At least 1,000 goats were killed after heavy rains wreaked havoc last Tuesday in Gither ward of Mandera west Sub County.
Gither MCA Ahmed Rashid regretted that the animals were claimed by nature after wading through a severe drought that ravaged the area over the last few months terming the incident journalists unfortunate.
“This is a misfortune because the animals have survived a prolonged dry spell only to die from heavy rainfall in the area” he retorted.
He said the county government and the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) have been giving relief rations and water through water trucking during the dry spell.
“It is a very unfortunate incident as the goats were very weak and could not survive the heavy down fall, a family migrating from Gither to Ethiopia in search of pasture lost over 400 goats in the downpour, ” said Rashid.
The MCA suspected the animal death toll to be higher because some areas are inaccessible and has no communication due to poor network coverage.
He called on the county and national government to help those who lost their animals to restock as this was their only means of livelihood.
NDMA drought coordinator Hussein Alio regretted the happening and promised the government will chip in and help the families restock.
He however decried limited resources but said the government will do what is possible to cushion livelihoods.
Mr. Hussein disclosed NDMA gave 16, 500, 50Kgs bags of drought mineral rich relief pellets to pastoralists to prevent possible animal deaths during the dry season.
He said some areas have not received rainfall and drought mitigation measures are being carried on by the government.
By Dickson Githaiga
