By Isiah Lucheli
A gush of swift wind blows dust and dry leaves into a disused compound of a former tourist hotel, banging decrepit doors and windows that hung from rusty, broken hinges.
An abandoned swimming pool at the closed Trackmack Hotel, now filled with windswept debris, completes the picture of ‘paradise lost’ that has overtaken Lokichoggio town, once a thriving United Nations hub that has been dying slowly.
Eight other former five star resorts built in this rustic northern Kenya outback, to cater for a population of 4,000 that comprised staff of UN and other NGOs, have all closed down in the past five years.
The main road at Lokichoggio town. |
The town had thrived as a UN and NGOs hub for launching relief supplies and other aid to then war-torn Southern Sudan.
But, the breath of life into Southern Sudan following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord that ushered in peace after 25 years of war, injected slow death on ‘Loki’ that begun when the massive aid machinery started pulling out.
Busiest airport
The town, which used to boast the second busiest airport in Kenya, after Wilson Airport, booming business and numerous recreational facilities, is now a pale shadow of itself, five years after the signing of the accord.
In 1996, at the peak of delivering relief into Southern Sudan, over 100 C-130 Hercules aircraft involved in food airdrops used to park at Lokichoggio airport, while an average ten passenger flights flew both ways between the town and Nairobi. Only one passenger flight makes the return trip today.
Apart from the UN, at least 60 NGOs were involved in Operation Lifeline Sudan, then dubbed the biggest relief operation in Africa.
Majority of the organisations have closed shop and relocated with their staff to Juba and Rumbek in Southern Sudan.
"There used to be over 1,000 retail outlets in the town but many traders have closed down while others have relocated to Sudan," says Peter Moru a resident of the town, adding that most organisations relocated in 2008.
Out of the 11 hotels of international standards that were once operational, only three remain open, doing minimal business.
The town’s airport that was once a thriving hub that hosted over 100 aircrafts. Photos: Peter Ochieng/Standard |
Hundreds of villagers had moved from their homes and built informal settlements near the town where they engaged in small businesses like charcoal selling and doing manual work in the UN camp.
"Some even stopped raring of livestock and engaged in the business but the future now looks gloom," says Moru.
Moru who works for Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) at Lokichoggio says the biggest effect was felt when the two biggest agencies, Unicef and International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) closed their offices and warehouses.
Turkana West District Commissioner Patrick Muriira says most of the activities that used to be conducted from the town during the Sudanese war were relocated to Juba.
"We still have flights operating from Lokichoggio airport but they are few. Planes going to Rumbek stop over mainly for refueling," explains Muriira.
The DC adds that the economy of the town had been adversely affected by the poor state of the Kitale-Lodwar road, which had forced most of the businessmen targeting the Southern Sudan market to opt for a longer route via Uganda.
Transit vehicle
"The road is in a deplorable condition and transit vehicles no longer pass through Loki. When the road was in a good condition business was flourishing but transit traffic has reduced," says Muriira.
The DC explains that the economy of the town thrived because of the presence of the international organisations but the trend had changed and people were now relying on the local economy.
"Livestock and cross-border trade with Southern Sudan have been keeping the town’s traders in some business but the situation is not like the way it was a few years ago," the DC says.
Abandoned buildings which used to serve as offices, houses and stores for the international organisations have been taken over to the Turkana County Council. The ICRC Lopiding Hospital, a kilometer from Lokichoggio town, which was a major surgical referral centre for soldiers injured in the Southern Sudan war, is in a state of disuse.
Hospital
Though the facility was handed over to the Government when it had three operational generators, a bed capacity of 800 and a fully furnished theatre, most of the equipment has been vandalised forcing medical staff to use candles to administer treatment at night.
A businesswoman in the town, Catherine Loduk who runs a hotel explains that majority of the business community have been hit hard by the peace in Sudan.
Loduk, however, expressed optimism that majority of the business people had adjusted to the prevailing situation while others had relocated to the neighbouring country.
"During the war cases of people being killed and many seeking refuge in Kenya were in the thousands. Children and women were the worst hit forcing them to live in deplorable conditions but peace has given them hope," she says.
