Images Coming From Turkana and Baringo Should Haunt Our Leaders

The images of people starving to death in Turkana County and Baringo County (Tiaty) constituency are terrifying, horrifying, sickening and breaks every heart.

People in both counties, Turkana and Baringo, are eating poisonous wild fruits, roots and few lucky one have opted to hunting rats and consuming them.

9 people have already died from starvation; 7 from Tiaty Constituency and 2 from Turkana.

17 million Kenyans are facing starvation, 1.2 million of them require urgent food supply. Turkana County, with around 1,000,000 people, has 800,000 at the risk of dying as hunger rages on.

Schools have been closed down as kids join their parents in hunt for poisonous wild fruits, roots and anything living that can be consumed, including rats.

Images of old men and women lying helplessly, waiting for the day death will come knocking are all over. Pregnant women with no energy even to stand on their feet and young children too weak to even cry should move us.

Let these images haunt our leaders. Let them haunt area governors like Josephat Nanok, who, within a short period of time, he has become a billionaire as his people eat rats.

Let these images haunt senators like Gideon Moi whose father ruled this country for 24 years, lived and still lives in Baringo, where Gideon is now a senator and wants to become president.

Let these images haunt DP William Ruto, who is busy touring the country as his people die of hunger. Let them haunt him as he lies to them that Raila Odinga is the cause of their problems.

Let these images haunt President Uhuru Kenyatta. As he watches over the nation being looted, as he dines with kings and queens, his people are dying. Let these images haunt him.

All politicians should be haunted by these images. As they run around campaigning for positions in 2022, let them be haunted. Let them be ashamed. The likes of Kipchumba Murkomen, Oscar Sudi and the rest, should be ashamed.

Let these images haunt those who used 7 billion shillings to invest in Galana Kulalu irrigation scheme and harvested nothing out of it. Let them be haunted.

Let these images haunt all the corrupt leaders in the country. Let them haunt those who stole more than 4 billion shillings set aside for disaster management. Let them be ashamed and haunted.

Let these images haunt those in charge of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB). Let these images, also, haunt those in the Ministry of Agriculture. NCPB has more than 3 million bags of maize right now. What are they doing with them? Farmers still have over 8 million bags of maize in store with nowhere to sell. The irony of this country. Shame.