Tana River county has come to the rescue of 10,000 people of Tana Delta who were facing starvation due to a river that had dried up.
Matomba Brook, which is part of River Tana, dried up leaving 42 villages without water after the main river changed its course.
The county has sent an excavator to help the residents, who had resolved to dig up the riverbed for the water, using crude shovels and hoes.
Tana River Governor Dhadho Godhana also directed his chief officer to supply relief food, two cows and other food to the residents who had volunteered to dig up the river bed.
Godhana accompanied by elders toured the old Matomba brook line with engineers who are residents of Tana River, including Mwaka Mungatana.
He is the chairman of coast branch of the Institution of Engineers in Kenya who had joined the residents in digging the river bed to enable him get water for his 10-acre watermelon farm which was drying up.
The Governor was shown the original area of the river route which dried up and elders said once the area is dredged for 300 metres, then water will flow back as the river was pushing to move in that direction but silt blocked its way.
Addressing journalists at the area where the locals were digging the river bed, he said the problem was not only at Matombo but in most of the brooks along the River Tana.
He said the only solution was to do river ''training to bring back the water flow.
He blamed some engineers who interfered with the course of the river in 2008 when the national government initiated a project to restore the water flow.
“Some of the challenges we have today in Tana are caused by people who have done engineering in Germany, the United States, China and Russia.
"They came to impose solutions in Tana without the people’s involvement,” he said.
The governor said damming upstream without considering the people downstream has had serious effects on the locals living in the lower parts of the River Tana.
He said the problem of Matomba Brook was caused by a scientist, an engineer on the 24th floor in Nairobi who drew a canal to serve the interests of the government without considering the interests of the residents
Godhana said he chose to celebrate the World Water Day with the locals who came up with local solutions to bring back the water to its course even though it was a short-term measure. He said his administration will support it fully
“Even the law requires that public participation has to be done before implementation of a project. The next thing is an Environmental Impact Assessment has to be done first before any project is implemented in any society,” he said.
So far, residents said about 15,000 families in 42 villages of Tana Delta subcounty are facing starvation after River Tana Changed its course at Matomba Brook area.
That left farmers and pastoralists hopeless.
Matomba Brook was a major link of the river to villages in four wards but since the river changed its course, life has never been the same.
Residents said they have expertise which can advise the engineers from government to do a major breakthrough of the original Matomba Brook diversion. They said that was the only solution to bring back the water to the 42 dry villages..
The current project residents are working is backed by the county and costs Sh18 million. It's a short-term measure to help residents access water.
Resident Timson Maneno said so far, the residents have been jobless as they cannot farm in the dry area since the river changed its course.
He said the course changed 18 years ago, causing serious damage for farmers.
“We must make sure Matomba goes back to its original route for life to return to normal. We are not people who depend on rations. We are farmers who produce a lot of food but now that's not the case," he said.
Local engineer Gift Bonaya said once dredging is done for about 500 meters, the river will return to its course.
“We appeal to the county and national government together with well-wishers to intervene because here we depend on farming and pastoralism by bringing in machinery to dredge,” he said.
Resident Patience Maririo said currently both men and women have turned to excessive drinking of palm wine due to idleness and cases of gender based violence are on the rise.
“We spend so much time to search for water only, when you wake up in the morning to search for water you return back in the afternoon, transport by Boda boda that costs Sh400, which is expensive,” she said.
The Chairman of Coast Branch of the Institution of Engineers in Kenya said life is unbearable and warned that those engineers who will come to implement the new projects will be deregistered if it fails again.
(Edited by V. Graham)