Kenya: Drought Threatens 1 Million Livestock

Herders in Northern Kenya have called on the government to provide them with enough water. They want it to increase water storage facilities and sink more boreholes at Ndumuru watering pan whose water levels have gone down.

The officer in charge of Ndumuru watering point, David M’Itirithia, said yesterday the the point is used by residents of Igembe North and South, Tigania East and West, Isiolo and Garbatulla districts.

Statistics from the Imetha Water and Sanitation Company, which is in charge of water distribution in the region, show that there are more than 500,000 cows, 73,000 camels and 608,000 goats and sheep in the area. “Water in the Ndumuru borehole has gone down drastically and it’s not enough to feed the animals. We call upon the DC in Igembe North to intervene and have another borehole at Mariara area opened. We also ask that the Ndumuru water storage facilities to be expanded,” said M’itirithia.

Water in the northern grazing zones has been a contentious issue over the years where the herders from the upper eastern have accused their counterparts from Igembe North of destroying water catchments, which has led to the drying up of the rivers flowing through the Meru National Park. In retaliation, the herders have persistently stormed the lower parts of Igembe North where they have killed people and grazed on their farms.