Turkana: Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai has called for support from partner organisations to assist victims of the recent Todonyang attack. He noted that the county government is mobilising resources to address the crisis. 'Apart from the loss of lives, our people have had their livelihoods severely affected. Over 56 boats and 560 nets were lost, and they urgently require our support,' he said. The governor made the appeal during a meeting with representatives from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and UNICEF in Lodwar.
According to Kenya News Agency, Turkana County Commissioner Julius Kavita toured the area on a food distribution exercise accompanied by elected leaders in the county. Meanwhile, a search and rescue operation for missing persons following the attack is ongoing. As of Monday, two bodies had been recovered after an ambush by suspected militia from the Ethiopian Dassanech community at Lotiira and Lopeimukat villages along Lake Turkana.
In a separate development, Turkana County is set to benefit from a water project aimed at enhancing resilience to WASH-related climate crises, improving sanitation, and promoting hygiene in four sub-counties of Loima, Turkana Central, Kibish, and Turkana North. The 'Strengthening County Resilience against WASH-related Climate Crisis in Turkana' (SCORE II) Project will be officially launched on Thursday (today) in Lodwar. The initiative seeks to bridge the deficit in water supply infrastructure by constructing community water points and rehabilitating existing boreholes.
This will enhance water accessibility and availability during both regular dry seasons and extreme climatic events such as droughts. During a briefing at the County Headquarters, Chief of UNICEF Zonal Office Rotuno Kipsang explained that the project will construct and rehabilitate 41 boreholes and water supply systems across the four sub-counties. He added that a joint technical team is already working to identify suitable implementation sites.
Governor Lomorukai acknowledged the success of the KOICA-UNICEF partnership, citing the transformative impact of previous water projects in Turkana Central and Loima sub-counties during the initiative's first phase. 'As the former MP for Loima, I witnessed firsthand the positive impact of water projects undertaken by KOICA-UNICEF. We have a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), and we are committed to continuing this collaboration,' he stated.
Chief of WASH at UNICEF, Haile Gashaw, emphasized that the KOICA-UNICEF partnership is exclusively implemented in Turkana and commended the governor's dedication to the initiative. Also present at the meeting were Chief Officer for the Office of the Governor Moses Korea, Director of Protocol Peter Lomauge, and UNICEF WASH Specialist Jackson Mutia.