In the sun-scorched plains of Urum, Loima Constituency, where Kenya meets Uganda and history bears the scars of conflict, a miracle has unfolded.
Here, in this remote corner of Turkana County, where mobile signals fade and dusty winds whisper through hills untouched by time, the Naku’etum Peace Dam has risen, not just as an engineering feat, but as a powerful symbol of reconciliation, healing, and hope.
It took vision. It took will. And it took the courage to believe that enemies could one day call each other neighbors.
But the dam did more than hold water. It quenched a deeper thirst, the longing for peace.
“We fought for water,” said Francis Majanichai, a local elder. “Now, we welcome them. They once shared with us, now, it is our turn. Our water is enough for all.”
His words, simple yet profound, echo the essence of this project, restoration through sharing.
The impact reaches beyond survival. Locals like Peter Aribo dream of transformation: “With this water, we can farm, grow sukuma, cabbage, fish, and build Urum into something more. We can earn from here instead of going to Lodwar. This is our chance.”
Indeed, the dam is not just a structure, it is the foundation of a new way of life. From once-hostile territories, a shared economy can now rise, farming, fishing, local trade, all made possible by the still waters of peace.
In 2020, when the construction started, then Turkana County Governor Nanok praised the dam as a fruit of the peace accord signed between then Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, calling it a model of what governments can achieve when they listen to the needs of their people.
At the heart of it all is the belief that every drop of water has the power to heal, that dignity can be restored where desperation once ruled.
Julius Mugun, CEO of the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority, reflected on the broader mission: “We are not just building dams, we are building peace and resolving community conflict. For us, this is fulfillment. This is joy.”
And joy it is, for the mothers who no longer bury sons lost to conflict, for the children who now see their futures reflected in calm waters, for entire generations who will grow up knowing cooperation instead of war.
In a place where time once stood still, the waters now move, silently, steadily, carrying with them the promise of a new dawn.
Eng Mugun added that the Government, through the National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority, is moving to roll out “water for peace” and conflict resolution by constructing medium-size dams, like Naku’etum Dam, in arid and semi-arid areas of the country.
