Flood victims in Nyando receive relief food

By Peter Ochieng

Residents of Nyando in Kisumu county living in evacuation centers after their houses were marooned by floods have received relief food from the government.

The relief food distribution exercise at Nyamasao Primary School on Thursday, was led by Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Information, Communications and the Digital Economy (ICDE) Eliud Owalo.

Over 200 families are staying at the school in the wake of El-Nino rains pounding most parts of the country.

Owalo said the relief food distribution exercise is a temporary measure aimed at reaching out to distressed families, adding that putting up of dykes along river Nyando and construction of the Koru-Soin dam will provide a permanent solution to the challenge of flooding in Nyando.

He said the dam, upon completion will provide water for irrigation, which will in turn improve food production in the region. Nyando is a rice and sugarcane growing area.

He said President William Ruto has handed out opportunities to various leaders from Nyando, also known as Kano, urging area residents to support him heading into the 2027 general elections.

“We should be part of this government now and during the president’s second term, from 2027 to 2032,” said the CS.

Former Kisumu governor Jack Ranguma and former Kisumu Senator Fred Otieno Outa, all who hail from Kano, are among those to have landed positions in Ruto’s administration.

Ranguma is the chairperson of the SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), while Outa was among the 50 persons appointed Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs) by Ruto, before the court slammed brakes on the appointments.

Nyanza Regional Commissioner (RC) Flora Mworoa said victims of floods currently pitching tent at Nyamasao Primary School will receive 800 bags of rice alongside 560 bags of beans.

She said the government is also reaching out with relief food to other victims in Siaya, Homabay and Migori counties.