Government denies starvation-related deaths

The Kenyan government on Tuesday denied there had been any starvation-related deaths in the northeast Wajir district, according to the ‘Daily Nation’ newspaper. Minister in the office of the president in charge of relief and rehabilitation Shariff Nassir told journalists that any deaths in the district were due to “other ailments”. He said districts such as Mandera, Moyale, Marsabit and Turkana were harder hit than Wajir, and added that the government was monitoring the situation. News organisations last week reported at least 85 deaths resulting from starvation in the Wajir area and warned that the number could be higher since the area’s residents are pastoralists who bury their dead the same day. Local MPs have accused the government of adopting a “don’t-care-attitude” towards the people of the entire northeastern region, and of “typically” giving “untruthful” official statements with no solutions to the famine situation, the ‘Daily Nation’ said.

But Nassir on Tuesday called on leaders from the area to “stop politicising” the issue of distributing relief food to famine victims in the country. He said the drought early warning system had indicated that Wajir district was only in a “state of alert”. The under-secretary in charge of Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL), Maalim Mahaboub, also told IRIN on Wednesday that Wajir district has been depicted as an emergency situation “contrary to the true situation on the ground”. “Only only environmental conditions, specifically water, have shown signs of deterioration,” he said. “Animal and human body condition is fine and more animals are being sold in Wajir market today than in December 1999.”