DOG MEAT? NO, NO, NOT IN TURKANA COUNTY

And the drama continues.... A granny is "nabbed frying dog's meat for her grand children". Government officials launch investigations as to why/how this happened. Aid agencies and their local salesmen run in frenzy alerting the world of a people on the verge of dying of hunger. Media takes over. Images of emaciated and dying children are splashed. And guess what? Billions of shillings are raised to "feed" the hungry. Then, the business continues....

Pause a bit. The people of Turkana County might be in need of food. Drought could have ravaged their sources of livelihood. Some of them might have resorted to "desperate measures to survive". Yes, desperate measures - (but) not feasting on dog's meat.

Let me explain why. According to 2009 National Population and Housing census Turkana County "owns" 1,534,612 Cattle, 3,517,151 sheep, 5,994,861 goats, 832,462 camels, 558,187 donkeys...and so on - ad infinitum. If these numbers are spread across the 800,000+ people living in this vast county, this is what we get: 2 Cattle per person, 4-5 sheep per man, woman or kid, 7 goats per county citizen.... 

This takes me to the crux of my argument. Could a people with all these mali (wealth) go hunting dogs for meat? If yes, what could be driving them to do so? What could be the problem? Is it lack of food or lack of markets for their animals? 

Turkana County can feed itself - and the Republic of Kenya. The people of Turkana County have demonstrated this. They have the energies. They possess the soul of a working and results-oriented humans. But some ingredients are missing.

The hunger in Turkana County does not arise due to lack of "food to eat" (pardon the construction) but due to lack of "food to buy". They keep the animals but few known middlemen profit. They connive and cut deals in the dark leaving the gullible livestock keeper to wait for his final trumpet call.

Solution? Don't distribute relief food. Teach them on the usefulness of cooperatives. Give them the seed money they need to make this a reality. This will lock out those merciless middlemen and eventually restore dignity to this rich poor.

Publishing "news" without providing facts is suicidal and erodes the dignity of a people. I have no doubt that this could be the work of some dollar-thirsty N.G.Os.

It is time we ask hard questions: with all the donor billions they have received, what have they done to help this forgotten cattle herder "stand on his own". Appealing to the world for short-term help is not aiding a people. It is enslaving the masses. Stop this and concentrate on meaningful works! I rest my case.

Twitter: @mlemukol