Kalonzo jets back, presses government on drought response

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Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka returned to the country with a blunt message for the government: declare the drought a national disaster and act immediately.

Speaking shortly after landing from Washington D.C., Kalonzo said the unfolding crisis across North Eastern Kenya and other drought-stricken regions has escalated into a full-blown humanitarian emergency.

“What is unfolding across North Eastern Kenya and the vast expanse of our country is not a seasonal challenge, it is a national emergency that demands immediate action,” he said.

He painted a grim picture of families pushed to the brink, livestock wiped out, and communities stripped of their economic lifelines.

“Children are going to bed hungry. Mothers are walking for hours in search of clean water. Communities are watching helplessly as their livestock--their only wealth, their inheritance, their dignity--perish before their eyes,” Mr Kalonzo stated.

The former Vice President declared the situation a “NATIONAL DISASTER,” urging the government to escalate intervention measures without delay.

He called for emergency food distribution, urgent water supply programmes, livestock support initiatives, and direct humanitarian assistance to the most vulnerable households.

“A nation cannot claim prosperity while a section of its people suffers in silence. No Kenyan should be left behind,” he said.

In a pointed political swipe, Mr Kalonzo criticised what he termed bureaucratic inertia.

“This is not a time for Ruto bureaucracy or delay. It is a time for compassion, moral leadership, and tangible action. Every life matters. Every child matters. Every Kenyan matters,” he added.

Mr Kalonzo said he would work with county governments, development partners, and the international community to mobilise rapid relief, stressing that the crisis in Northern Kenya is a crisis for the entire Republic.

As drought conditions persist in arid and semi-arid counties, his remarks add pressure on the national government to intensify response measures and consider a formal disaster declaration.

The political heat is now rising alongside the temperatures — and the urgency, Mr Kalonzo insists, is now.