{Transport remained paralysed on Wednesday for the third day running after heavy rains washed away a section of the Kapenguria-Kainuk road in West Pokot County.}
The incident has effectively cut off Turkana County from the rest of the country.
The El Niño rains swept off the road at Kambi Karai, a few kilometres from the Marich Trading Centre, leaving motorists operating between West Pokot and Turkana counties stranded and sparking off fears of a humanitarian crisis.
A heavy truck was swallowed up by a deep ravine in a section of the washed-off road, frustrating efforts to get a way round the damaged section.
Close to 1,000 people spent a second night in the cold on Tuesday, and there were growing fears of insecurity as the area is also a banditry hotspot.
Wild animals also pose a major threat to the stranded travellers.
With no shops close to the area, there are also fears of a food shortage and a huge humanitarian crisis looms.
On Tuesday, West Pokot County Commissioner Wilson Wanyanga said engineers from the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the National Youth Service (NYS) were on the ground tackling the gridlock.
“We are trying to get a temporary solution as we seek to find a long-term solution to the problem,” Mr Wanyanga said.
But on Wednesday, when the Nation visited the scene, no KeNHA or NYS personnel or even county or national government officials could be seen.
Mr Wanyaga had reported that the mostly sandy section of the road was washed off at 10pm on Monday.
One traveller stranded yesterday, Mr Thomas Caxton, said he was not sure when the travellers would get out of the gridlock.
“We have no hope of getting out of this place. We have been out in the cold for the last three days,” he said.
A Kapenguria resident, Mrs Lilian Maina, who was travelling to Lodwar and is accompanied by three children, urged the government to rescue them.
AFFECTED BY MOSQUITOES
“My children have been affected by mosquitoes and I’m urging the government to come to our rescue.
Mr Fred Kimani, a businessman transporting relief food to the Kakuma Refugee Camp, was afraid the food would go bad.
“If this food goes bad, both the government and we transporters will suffer losses,” he said.
Perishable food destined for Lodwar, some 200 kilometres away on the potholed, rough road, has already been destroyed.
There are fears the situation could get worse as heavy rains on Tuesday night also washed off another section close to where the travellers are stranded.
Residents continued their calls for the government to repair the road, which has been in a pathetic state for a long time.
Many other stranded travellers pitched camp at the Lous Administration Police Camp, fearing for their safety.
On Tuesday, West Pokot Deputy Governor Titus Lotee feared the pile-up could cause a humanitarian crisis.
“The road blockage has caused a huge pile-up of vehicles plying the Kainuk-Kapenguria road, affecting access to Turkana County and even South Sudan,” Mr Lotee said.
“The pile-up is likely to cause a humanitarian crisis as the area does not have toilets or even shops,” he added.
“Hunger, anger and frustration is starting to grip the thousands of people already stranded.”
The Red Cross team was expected at the scene on Wednesday, with a contingent leaving Eldoret earlier in the morning.
EL NIÑO
Mr Lotee said the county government had set aside some money to respond to the effects of El Niño but asked the national government to release disaster cash to address the current situation.
“At the rate … this is happening, it is prudent (for) the Ministry of Devolution, which did indicate that they had set aside some billions of shillings for El Niño response, to step in,” he added.
He explained that due to the topography of West Pokot County, most of the county’s roads, particularly those handled by KeNHA and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority, had been rendered impassable.
“The dairy farmers that supply over 30,000 litres of milk daily to Brookside have (incurred) huge losses as a result of the impassable roads in Lelan.
“The Kacheliba-Kapenguria roads have been blocked and sand harvesters, who contribute a lot to the county and national economy, have been impaired,” Mr Lotee said.
“The people of Lomut have been unable to access Chesegon since Wednesday and the Pokot-Marakwet border towns are now closed,” he added on Tuesday.
DAILY NATION
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