WEST POKOT — Kapchok Ward MCA Peter Lokor has warned that prolonged drought in West Pokot County is pushing hundreds of pastoralist families across the border into neighboring Uganda as grazing lands, water sources, and staple crops completely dry up, triggering an escalating humanitarian crisis across the region.
Hundreds of pastoralist families from West Pokot County have fled to neighboring Uganda with their livestock as a prolonged drought wipes out pasture, water and crops, deepening food insecurity across the region.
The mass migration has forced children out of school and split communities, as families walk for days in search of grazing land.
“Our people have been left with no option but to move to Uganda with their livestock because there is no pasture or water here,” said Kapchok Ward MCA Peter Lokor. “If this situation continues, we risk losing both livestock and human lives.”
Residents say nearly four months without rain have destroyed maize fields that many households depended on for food and income. Some farmers are now feeding dried, unharvested maize to their animals.
For many, the decision to cross the border comes with heavy costs. Children who were in class last term are now herding animals in Uganda. Families who relied on farming have no harvest, and incomes have collapsed.
Lokor blamed the crisis on climate change. “Climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is happening now, and our communities are paying the price. Children are dropping out of school while families struggle to survive,” he said.
County officials say the drought has affected thousands of households. West Pokot County Commissioner David Saruni said assessments show about 30 per cent of the county’s population needs urgent food assistance.
“The drought has severely affected crop production. Some farmers have even resorted to feeding their dried maize crops to livestock because there is nothing left to harvest,” Saruni said.
He noted many pastoralists who moved to Uganda last year have not returned because conditions in Kenya have not improved. “Although we have not recorded deaths directly linked to the drought, the situation remains critical and requires urgent intervention,” he added.
Leaders are now calling for immediate food relief, water trucking, livestock feed, and long-term investments in drought resilience to protect pastoral communities from increasingly frequent climate shocks.
