Turkana’s biggest asset lies not in oil beneath but land

Turkana is Kenya’s most underrated county. It is a record holder on many fronts. For starters, it is Kenya’s largest county. At 68,680.3 square kilometers, Turkana is almost three times the size of Rwanda. Located in a corner of this county is Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake in the world. But even more historic is the fact that Turkana is widely considered to be the cradle of humankind.

Despite all these incredible qualities, Turkana has in recent years been mostly known for two things only – oil and famine. While the famines have been perennial headaches in the region, it wasn’t until 2012 that the British company Tullow Oil and its Canadian partner Africa Oil revealed that they had discovered commercial oil reserves in Turkana’s Lokichar Basin.