A section of Turkana Central Sub County residents are counting losses after their sheep and goats were washed away by floods following the rains being experienced.
The most affected areas are Chok chok, Kakwenyag, Monti, Nakadukiwi and Ngomo areas of the sub county.
Ekaru Lokoti, a resident of Monti village said they depend on the sheep and goats for their livelihoods.
“We are appealing to the government to help us because our livestock has been washed away by floods yet it is our only source of livelihood. We depend on the sheep and goats to buy food and even pay school fees for our children,” he said.
Lokoti said while some of their sheep and goats were washed away by floods others died due to the sudden change in weather because they could not survive the cold during the heavy rains.
According to Chok Chok resident Maxmiller Elem, all her sheep have died adding she does not have another source of livelihood.
“I don’t even have food now, I urgently need government support because I have lost all my source of livelihood,” she said.
Kwakenyang resident Lodinya Kelvin said he was happy that the rains were a relief to the residents after many days of drought but with it came calamity that killed his sheep.
“We were happy that the rains have finally come because we were experiencing drought unfortunately it was too heavy and claimed our livestock,” said Lodinya.
He added that the residents used to sell their livestock to meet their daily needs including paying school fees.
Turkana county experienced heavy rains in the last two weeks which caused a transport crisis as some drifts along the roads were filled with water causing passengers to spend long hours on the roads as they waited for the waters to subside.
The weatherman had predicted that the county would experience heavy rains in the first and second week of May.
The rains have now reduced in many parts of the county.
By Peter Gitonga
