Over 150,000 residents facing starvation, Samburu leaders say

A section of leaders from Samburu County have said that the area is severely affected by drought ravaging the northern part of the country.

Led by Samburu Women Representative Maison Leshoomo, the leaders pointed out Samburu East, Samburu North and parts of Samburu Central as the worst hit.

Speaking in Maralal town, Leshoomo called on the national government to map out Samburu as an area in dire need and urgently provide relief food to the affected residents.

“Women, children and the elderly are the most affected since they are unable to migrate in search for food and pasture,” said.

She also noted that some people in the county are living with hunger-related diseases such as malnutrition adding that some have died of the same.

On his part, Ndoto Ward MCA Rais Letura lamented how the national government reports left out Samburu County as one of the counties affected by starvation.

Letura accused the government for ignoring their county and yet it shares the same rain patterns with surrounding counties such as Baringo and Turkana.

“The government is leaving Samburu County and only focusing on the counties the that surrounding such as Baringo, Turkana, Isiolo and Marsabit and yet we share the same lifestyle climatic conditions and weather patterns,” lamented Letura.

Letura noted that most herders in Samburu and parts of Marsabit have migrated to Nyiro ward in Samburu North leading to tension between the various communities in search of water and pasture.