As drought bites, thirsty Turkana residents trek for every drop of water

So exhausted, weak, and weighed down by despair after hours of searching for water, 14-year-old William Enokan takes a nap beside a dry lugga in Kerio, Turkana South.

The search mission is too heavy on the boy, who remains uncertain whether he will get water.

Enokan left home before dawn, and by 11 am, he is yet to find a drop.

“I have walked for five kilometres. I am just keeping up at the lugga, hoping I shall get some water,” he says.

Around him, villagers dig shallow wells in the hope of finding water beneath the sand.

Hours later, there is still none.

Women clutch empty jerricans, children drowse in the heat, and goats bleat weakly from thirst.

Here, each container of water, when it finally comes, costs between Sh20 and Sh50, a price many families can barely afford.

Eighteen-year-old Sebetua Icharaet also camps at the lugga.

She left her home at 5 am but cannot afford to buy water.

“We are never assured of getting water. The lugga can either have it, or it just dries up. We keep waiting on empty stomachs and thirst,” she regrets.

Fifteen-year-old Solomon Moit, a lugga owner, tries to ease suffering in dire situations.

Save lives

“I give the commodity free sometimes. I use a lot of energy to dig this well to save lives, including livestock. But these are my people, it traumatises me to see elderly and children trek long distances in search of water. I do not wish to see anybody die,” he says.

As the drought tightens its grip on Turkana County, the search for water has become a daily gamble between survival and despair.

A team from The Standard visiting the county revealed dried wells, dams, and rivers, with locals scrambling for water for both domestic use and livestock.

At Lomokamar village in Turkana South, hundreds were spotted crowding around water supplied by an oil drilling company to help save lives. Several villages have been deserted, as pastoral families move in search of pasture and water.

In neighbouring Lomeyan location, Turkwel Division in Loima sub-County, at least eight villages namley Lomil, Akatorongot, Nalukowoi, Lokipaka, Ngipeikaal, Abulon, Etete, and Keenyangaluk, are severely affected.

The affected villages lie near the borders of Uganda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia, making cross-border migration a common coping strategy during prolonged drought.

Some animals are dying along migration routes due to exhaustion, dehydration, and lack of fodder.

Lomeyani location senior chief Robert Epur Ikoel says livestock are already dying and fears the situation may worsen by March or April without rains. “Animals are dying. This is a blow to communities that rely heavily on livestock for their livelihood. People have nothing to feed on,” he says.

Forty-year-old David Eroo of Katorongot village feeds his goats with cartons to salvage his remaining stock.

He has lost at least 60 goats to the drought and fears losing more.

“It takes me 12 hours to get water for my goats. Feed is another challenge, and for survival, I feed the stock on anything I collect while searching for water and pasture. Cartons are not food, but what can I do?” he poses.

Too weak

Livestock markets have also shrunk, with goat prices plunging from Sh5,000 to as low as Sh300.

“The goats are too weak to even walk, and they die. I cannot sell them because the prices cannot even buy enough food for my family,” he adds.

At Chebilat village, villagers display hides of goats lost to the drought, a silent reminder of livelihoods swept away.

Here, locals depend on wild fruits for survival and to feed remaining livestock.

Akolong Egilan and Alice Akeno prepare wild fruits to feed emaciated goats and grandchildren, while coping with deep psychological distress.

“I am psychologically disturbed by the drought. I cannot fend my grandchildren, and my livestock is drying up. I give them wild fruits, but they remain weaker,” says Akeno.

Kenya Red Cross Society is among the organisations providing emergency response and services to hard-hit communities in the county.

In an interview with The Standard, the KRCS Head North Rift Region Oscar Okumu says children, pregnant and lactating mothers are worst hit.

The society is reaching out to the most affected population for nutritional support and other humanitarian needs.

Turkana, he says, is among hard hit counties, with January data showing that some sub-counties with Global Acute Malnutrition ate of 54 per cent, against the expected belwo 15 per cent.

“The drought situation is dire. Families have no food, livestock lack feed, an issue that trigger malnutrition, more so to children, pregnant and lactating mothers,” says Okumu, adding that some children are reporting to school just because of the school feeding programme.

The situation is deteriorating due to a drop in donor funding.

In Turkana, the society is conducting medical outreaches, and so far, has reached out to Loima, which is hard hit with malnutrition, and Kalapata, in Turkana South.

Okumu says it is worrying that the drought situation nationally is increasing drastically, and more and more counties are being affected.

Apart from Turkana, other counties hard hit according to data by the Society include Marsabit, Isiolo, Wajir, Mandera and West Pokot.

Nationally, the society has identified 216 strategic water points that have either been constructed or rehabilitated to ensure the population across the country gets safe drinking water.

“Up to 64 water points have already been rehabilitated by the Kenya Red Cross with the support of the government and other donors,” says Okumu.

Additionally, at least 16,645 children aged six and 59 months have been supported by the society, in addition to 2, 722 pregnant and lactating mothers.

Okumu notes the society, and other agencies lead by the National Drought Management Authority conducted short rains assessment. This report is under scrutiny to give the overall effects of the drought across the country.

Turkana County Commissioner Julius Kavita says the situation remains dire, with several boreholes, dams and seasonal rivers across the county drying up.

Among the hardest-hit locations are Korkro in Turkana North, Loima, Suguta Valley, Turkana East, Katilia, Koraruk, Lobei, Todonyang, the Kerio Delta, Kalapata and Namukuse.

Suguta Valley, about 270 kilometres from Lodwar, currently has virtually no pasture, forcing herders to trek long distances in search of grazing land.

“Most seasonal rivers are now just sand beds. In some places, people have to dig shallow wells to access water,” Kavita says.

The crisis, he says, has forced many pastoralists to migrate with their livestock to neighbouring Uganda, particularly the Orum area, which has a dam.

Temporary grazing

Local administrators from both countries have engaged communities, including the Karamojong pastoralists in Uganda, to allow Turkana herders temporary grazing access as a short-term mitigation measure.

Kobebe dam, in Uganda also feeds many livestock from Kenya and Uganda where pastoralists are currently depending on for survival of their livestock.

However, movement towards Nyandapal and Mogila, have been affected because of political instability in South Sudan.

To cushion residents, Kavita has said that the national government has doubled food rations distributed to vulnerable households, increasing allocations from about 560 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes.

Despite the severity of the drought, officials say no human deaths have been directly reported so far, though suffering is widespread and livestock losses continue to mount.

Leaders in the county, including Loima ward MCA Mark Akeru, have called for sustained emergency allocations and long-term investment in water infrastructure, livestock support and climate resilience to protect pastoral communities from recurring drought cycles.

The county is however yet to allocate money to manage the crisis risking deaths.

In an interview, Turkana Deputy County Secretary Joseph Nyang’a said the county is “planning for a second supplementary to call executive committee members on the matter to set some funds for interventions”.

A report by the Kenya Red Cross Society shows that Kenya is facing a worsening drought characterised by early depletion of household food stocks, reduced pasture and water availability, declining livestock productivity and increased livestock migration.

Acute malnutrition with the raging drought remains at critical levels.

At least seven counties and sub-counties are listed in the critical phase, namely Turkana, Mandera, Samburu, Garissa, Isolo, Marsabit (North Horr and Laisamis), West Pokot (East Pokot) and Baringo (Tiaty).

The other three counties and sub-counties are in the serious phase, among them Wajir, Tana River, West Pokot, and Marsabit (Saku).

The society notes that an estimated 784,000 children aged six and 59 months and 134,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women require treatment for acute malnutrition nationally.

“Kenya Red Cross Society is actively responding to the ongoing drought across ASAL counties, providing food assistance, cash transfers, nutrition services, clean water and psychosocial support to vulnerable households,” reads a section of the society’s report.

The report adds that the society is working closely with both national and county governments as an auxiliary to the government in disaster response and in coordination with UN agencies and humanitarian partners.

“Kenya Red Cross Society is implementing a multi-sectoral drought response focusing on food, security, nutrition, water and protection,” adds the report.