This archive report was first published on 27 November 2019.
Heavy rains in Kenya have caused widespread devastation, with the worst affected areas being Tawaka, Nyarkulian, and Tapach in West Pokot.
On November 23, 2019, a landslide in West Pokot left 43 people dead and dozens of families displaced after their houses were destroyed or swept away by floods.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i initially deployed military support to respond to the crisis, but the assistance was delayed due to poor weather conditions.
Reports indicated that a police chopper returned to Nairobi on Sunday due to the poor weather in the affected area.
As of yesterday, hundreds of people in two camps were still cut off from basic supplies like food, clothing, clean water, beddings, and medication.
The US Embassy in Nairobi expressed solidarity with the West Pokot residents, stating that it was saddened by the events.
However, the embassy's second tweet had an underlying tone that the Americans no longer trust the government to do the right thing with the money it receives for disasters.
Could this be an indictment of the Uhuru Kenyatta-led government, which has shown incompetence when dealing with issues regarding money?
The National Disaster Operation Centre (NDOC) seems to have not grasped its mandate since its inception, with its limited presence on Twitter and only issuing heavy rain advisories from the Met department.
Is this agency still sleeping on the job despite the funding it receives?
