Exodus threatens food security

Fast-growing Eldoret Town faces doom and gloom as it sags under an unprecedented exodus of traders and investors following the worst form of post-election violence in the country.

A convoy of buses carrying internally displaced people leaves Eldoret Town for Nakuru yesterday. Photo/ JARED NYATAYA

It has emerged that many of those who have marched out of the town were key businessmen and women who have since declared “we are leaving never to return”.

So grave is the situation that many people were predicting that the town, which was promising to beat its neighbour and Rift Valley provincial headquarters Nakuru in terms of business and development, will never be the same again.

Cruel knife

District commissioner Bernard Kinyua said Sunday that more than 150,000 people in the town had been displaced by inter-ethnic clashes.

He summed it up: “There had been an elaborate and deliberate scheme to destroy the town but the security team got wind of it and immediately secured it.”

Police were Sunday estimating that more than 10,000 families had packed their bags to exit the town with little promise that they would be back.

That came in the face of senseless killings, the worst of which was the burning of 35 women and children in a church.

Many more were killed in night attacks in the estates, worst of which were Huruma, Langas and Kimumu.

Police have had a difficult time picking up bodies and taking them to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary, which was getting congested.

More than 100 people have been killed in the town scaring away many investors.

“This is economic suicide. Most of us are planning not to come back. Even if I am not sure where we are going, all I know is that I will not be back,” said Patrick Njau whose hostel near Moi University Annex campus was set ablaze.

“I know that communities living here will never trust one another again. There is no point living in a place where you always expect your neighbour to attack you,” he said.

Mr Njau had invested Sh2 million in the construction, all of which was payment from his retirement benefits.

His sentiments were echoed by Chris Mang’ere whose palatial home in Kimumu estate was burnt down.

“I am waiting for roads to be fully opened up so I can move all my goods out of this town. There appears to have been bad blood between communities here, whose members have used the confusion of elections to evict us. I am out of this town,” he said full of bitterness.

The killings have now scared away many investors, local and international.

With a modern airport and good business environment, many people were flocking to the cosmopolitan area to cash in on the many businesses that were coming up. Existence of the airport, which has recently been growing in the number of flights plying the route, meant that transport was near excellent and convenient.

All the good gains, however, appear to be going up in flames thanks to the monster of election violence, which targeted  people from other parts of the country who have settled there.

Although the airport was meant to make their transport easier, it has since turned out to be a good exit point for businessmen after the chaos struck.

Many others have left through convoys of buses under heavy security.

Until last week, the town was emerging as a hub of education, finance and agriculture. While other towns were going down, Eldoret was on an upward trend over the past five years, promising to be a big industrial hub of North Rift region.

Over the past five years, industries that collapsed in the last decade have been revived, the latest of which was the Rift Valley Textile Mills reopened late last year.

 Before that, New Kenya Cooperative Creameries was formed to replace the former Kenya Cooperative Creameries clearing the way for investment in the dairy industry among the area farmers.

 The KCC factory has undergone a major rehabilitation at a cost of Sh100 million from the Government.

 The grain sector has also improved through producer price increases by the National Cereals and Produce Board.

Added to this has been big investment from athletes, many of whom come from the area, with massive investment in buildings, schools and even hospitals.

With the existence of the fast expanding Moi University, colleges and other businesses,  new jobs have increased by leaps and bounds, helping the North Rift town to a handsome economic position.

Economic fortune

Another good indicator of the town’s  economic fortune has been the increasing number of banks, a clear sign that there were many clients ready to save cash.

Currently, the town has 20 banks from a low of six about five years ago.

More than 10 banks have opened branches there in the last four years.

With an estimated population of 300,000, the town was promising to attract many more investors.

The improved economy of the town is evidenced by the booming construction sector and the mushrooming of microfinance institutions.

Over the past one week when there was chaos, dairy farmers have been hurt most after they failed to deliver their milk to New KCC due to insecurity.

So bad was the situation that the company had to appeal to farmers to do all they could to deliver the milk so it can be available to patients in various hospitals who were victims of the violence.

Also suffering were maize farmers who were only in the third week of delivering their new harvest to the NCPB.

If the situation does not return to normal in the next few weeks, it could see close to 30 million bags of maize in the province going to waste.