Why Kitui is still crying for water, half a century later

When pressed further to explain how soon any development could be expected in Kitui, Roger Swynnerton, the guru who defined agricultural policies for small-scale farmers in Kenya, simply answered; "I am afraid, no date can be given," as he quickly neutered the debate.

Interestingly, soon after this response, the Legco started discussing how a charitable organisation, Social Services League, was to be assisted by the government to purchase Parklands Nursing Home.

The State, the Minister for Local Government, Health and Town Planning, B W Havelock revealed, was willing to assist the organisation with 40,000 pounds which had already been factored in the 1959/60 budget. Havelock observed that although this project had been started in 1953 and some budgetary allocations made, there had been some obstacles preventing its implementation, but the beneficiaries gave him no peace.

He described the beneficiaries as a "tenacious society" that would simply not give up and although the project was expensive, the government had to chip in as the clinic was meant to help the poor.

The closest the residents of Kitui came to solving this problem was when Umaa Dam construction started in 2008. Although it was supposed to be completed in two years, the project was dogged by controversy and was abandoned after more than Sh570 million was sunk

Though it has been 65 years since Muimi sought an answer to the acute water shortage in Kitui, the problem still persists. Every regime makes promises of mega water projects which are just a pipe dream. Other parts which were marginalised by imperialists are still grappling with skewed development.