Police officers transporting suspects from Todonyang to Lodwar were on Wednesday afternoon forced to divert the suspects to Kalokol town near Lake Turkana following flooding at river Kawalase which is just one kilometre from Lodwar town.
The officers who had covered more than 170 kilometres and spent more than four hours on the road were forced to travel another 60 Kilometres to Kalokol to ensure the safety of the suspects.
The Turkana Central Sub County Police Commander (SCPC), David Mburukwa said the officers led by Todonyang OCS had to transport the suspects in the opposite direction due to floods.
According to the SCPC, the river Kawalase flooded at 2pm and motorists and passengers had to spend the whole afternoon and night on either sides of the river.
“There were no incidents this time because motorists and pedestrians accepted to heed police instructions to wait until the water subsided before they could cross the river,” said Mburukwa.
A canter lorry was swept away in the river on Thursday morning but nobody was injured.
In the past, vehicles attempting to cross the flooded river got swept away leading to loss of lives and properties worth thousands of shillings.
Many passengers were inconvenienced by the floods as they could not continue with their journeys.
The County National Aids Control Council Coordinator, Bernard Mwaura was forced to delay his journey to Kalokol for official business due to the floods.
“I arrived at Kawalase by 8 am on Thursday and found the river was still impassable. I had to go back and wait until the waters subsided,” he told KNA.
Residents are eager for the completion of the Kawalase Bridge which is almost complete because it will save them money and time wasted as they spend hours by the river side.
“We can’t wait for the bridge to be completed, we have suffered enough,” Rose Ekai said.
However, the floods are also a blessing for traders who live on the other side of the river because they take the opportunity to cash in on passengers who are forced to purchase food because they cannot access Lodwar town.
The County Commissioner, Muthama Wambua recently warned that anyone found attempting to cross the flooded river would be arrested and prosecuted for attempting to commit suicide.
By Peter Gitonga
