Kenya and Somalia are facing a deepening drought emergency that is devastating pastoralist livelihoods, driving distress sales of livestock, and raising the risk of conflict over scarce resources, according to reporting by Reuters from affected communities and officials in the region.
In southern Kenya’s Kajiado county, which borders the capital Nairobi, the scale of the crisis is visible in the carcasses of cattle and goats scattered around family homesteads. Maria Katanga, a 24-year-old Maasai herder, told Reuters she has lost more than 100 cattle and 300 goats since August, as failed rains have left grazing land barren and water scarce. The surviving animals are so emaciated that they no longer produce milk, cutting off a vital source of food and income.
Kenya has endured severe droughts before, most recently in 2022 when a record dry spell ravaged livestock herds and plunged pastoralist regions in the north and northeast into hunger. But as climate shocks become more frequent, their impact is spreading into areas that were previously less vulnerable. Kajiado, traditionally more resilient to drought, is now among the hardest hit, Reuters reported.
As animals weaken, their market value has collapsed. Katanga’s stepson, Emmanuel Loshipae, said cows that once sold for 60,000 to 70,000 Kenyan shillings are now fetching as little as 5,000 shillings. He told Reuters that families have been forced into distress sales simply to buy animal feed, as natural pasture has disappeared.
Local administrator Lemaiyan Samuel Kureko said groups of herders are moving ever farther in search of pasture and water, with some crossing into neighboring Tanzania. “There have been droughts before in the region but this one is the worst,” he told Reuters, warning that communities have been pushed to the brink.
Kenya’s National Drought Management Authority has warned that recurrent droughts are intensifying competition for limited resources, increasing the likelihood of violent conflict in affected regions. While the agency says it has distributed cash assistance to more than 130,000 households in historically arid northern counties, such relief has not extended to Kajiado.
The crisis extends beyond Kenya’s borders. Somalia declared a national drought emergency in November after successive seasons of poor rainfall. According to the United Nations World Food Programme, millions of Somalis are now facing severe hunger, compounded by cuts in foreign aid that have weakened the response capacity of humanitarian organizations. The WFP said malnutrition levels are alarmingly high, with nearly half of Somali children in need of urgent treatment.
Forecasts offer little immediate relief. The Kenya Meteorological Department said Kajiado is expected to receive near-average to below-average rainfall during the March to May monsoon season, raising concerns that the drought’s grip will persist.
“No people have died yet, but the livestock are gone and the sun is getting hotter every day,” Kureko told Reuters. “We have been weakened to such a level that we can only pray for God’s help.”
