Kenya: Drought countered by $49M in govt aid, prayers

By Andrew Wasike

Nairobi, KENYA

In the face of a drought leaving more than 1.3 million Kenyans facing starvation, the government has announced emergency spending, and local Muslims are prepping to pray for rain.

The Kenyan government Sunday released 5 billion Kenya shillings ($49.2 million) to help grapple with the drought, blamed on the La Nina weather pattern, which has struck Kenya’s northeast and southwest.

“Because things are worsening, the government has decided that it will provide food for all Kenyans who are suffering from the drought,” Devolution and Planning Minister Mwangi Kiunjuri told residents of Samburu county Sunday.

According to the government, more than 1.3 million Kenyans are facing starvation due to the drought.

Muslims in Kenya on Sunday also announced that as of this Thursday, they will fast to pray for rainfall in the affected areas.

“In Kenya we have been hit with a big problem that has triggered a food shortage due to drought, and due to this the Council of Imams, sheikhs, and other religious organizations led by Muslim leaders have agreed that as of Nov. 3 we will fast and pray for rain,” Sheikh Mohammed Khalifa, secretary of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK), told reporters.

Kiunjuri also said that the government will use 1.2 billion of the 5 billion shillings to purchase livestock from pastoralist communities in the affected areas.

The majority of the people living in the affected areas rely on their animals to earn a living, and as the drought persists, thousands of animals have been dying.

“Ten percent of the livestock in these areas has been greatly affected, animals are dying,” said Kiunjuri.

He added that the government is aware of the practice of illegally selling relief food to locals, saying those caught will be sacked and prosecuted.