This archive report was first published on 17 May 2020.
On a day when many residents of Kisumu County were eagerly awaiting food rations, they were left disappointed after the Uhuru Community Development Program (UCDP) food distribution exercise was stopped.
According to sources, the residents had gathered for the usual rations they have been receiving in the past, but were left cursing those behind the stoppage, terming them as inhuman and keen on impoverishing the suffering lot.
Speaking to Kenyan Digest, an elderly woman, Dorsila Ager, who was among the group drawn from Manyatta A and B, expressed her disappointment and frustration at the sudden stoppage of the food distribution.
“It is unfortunate that we have been made to sit for more than three hours only to be shocked that an Assistant Chief rushed to the Kisumu Central Assistant County Commissioner’s offices just to ensure the food distribution does not take place,” she claimed.
Despite the setback, Bishop Davies Okombo, the Director of UCDP, revealed that so far 370 beneficiaries have been issued with food rations, including 4Kgs wheat flour, 4Kgs rice, 4 Kgs green grams, and two bars of soap each.
He explained that each household has an average of 5 persons, translating to 1850 direct beneficiaries whom they have been targeting to alleviate them from the impacts of Covid – 19, which has seen more than 1.2 million people lose their jobs Countrywide.
The project, which was authorized at Kisumu East Deputy County Commissioner’s offices, has a budget of Ksh 5 million and will run for 6 months.
However, the distribution was stopped after the Kisumu East Deputy County Commissioner, Josephine Ouko, disowned the authorization, claiming it was not done at her office.
