Nairobi — Hundreds of herders who moved with their livestock from Kajiado District to a private ranch in Athi River have been given one month to leave.

The owner of the 20,000-acre ranch says the pasture is exhausted. Following the notice, the pastoralists are now appealing to the government to allow them to graze their animals in forests and game parks.

The fate of their 12,000 cattle has been compounded by diseases, among them the dreaded foot-and-mouth disease. Mr Lewis Thuo, a manager at the ranch, had asked the pastoralists to move half of their animals out of the ranch by the end of June, when the drought worsened.

"We cannot allow them to continue grazing here because their cows have exhausted everything in this ranch. Our wild animals are also dying due to lack of pasture," said Mr Thuo.

Facing starvation

The herders have been paying Sh11 a day for every animal and Sh7 for the weaners. Those who do not have cash pay in kind. Mr Moses ole Kusero from Ewuaso Kedong, who arrived with more than 500 cattle, paid 15 bulls worth Sh250,000 after he failed to pay cash for two months.

Kajiado district drought management officer George Otieno, who accompanied journalists on a tour of the district, told the Nation that many households were starving following the migration of about 70 per cent of the livestock from the district.

He said the District Steering Group had proposed a livestock off-take of at least 10 per cent, to reduce losses for the farmers. Also affected by the drought are children below the age of five years, who have been left without sustenance. "About 13 per cent of the children in this age bracket are at risk of malnutrition," said Mr Otieno.

In Oloitokitok District, the drought has triggered conflict between farmers and pastoralists competing for limited water resources, while human-wildlife conflict is on the rise following invasion of farms by wild animal in the upper regions. Apart from ranches in the suburbs of Nairobi and Athi River, other pastoralists have moved to Makueni, Tsavo East and West national parks, Nakuru, Nyahururu and Trans Mara, while others have gone to Tanzania.

At the Coast, the hunger situation is severe. In Malindi District alone, at least 120,000 people will continue to rely on relief food for the next one year following total crop failure in many rural areas. Commenting on the situation, district agricultural officer Babu Musa said his department had supplied drought-resistant seeds, including cassava cuttings and seeds of cowpeas and green grams.

The Kenya Red Cross Society has also launched a campaign aimed at identifying and assisting the most vulnerable people.