Forget Kiunjuri, here is Alfred Mutua’s locusts moment
It appears that the swarm of locusts that have been causing havoc in Machakos County are no more, at least this is according to Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua.
Dr Mutua, through his Twitter handle, claimed that the insects that were in his county flew away over the weekend.
According to Dr Mutua, surveillance cameras around the region have since not captured any locusts.
“Have you spotted locusts in Machakos county today? The swarms of locusts that were in Machakos County flew away yesterday jioni. So far, our surveillance has not spotted them in the county. Please let me know if they have landed anywhere in our county so that we can act fast,” tweeted Dr Mutua.
HAVE YOU SPOTTED LOCUSTS IN MACHAKOS COUNTY TODAY? The swarms of locusts that were in Machakos county flew away yesterday jioni. So far, our surveillance has not spotted them in the county. Please let me know if they have landed anywhere in our county so that we can ACT FAST.
— Dr. Alfred Mutua (@DrAlfredMutua) February 9, 2020
Desert locusts have since the first invasion on December 28, 2019 continued to wreak havoc in Isiolo, Samburu, Wajir, Marsabit, Garissa, Turkana, Baringo, Kitui, Embu, Tharaka-Nithi and Machakos counties, threatening food security for both humans and livestock.
They were first spotted in Masinga, Machakos County in January 28, 2020 and later landed in Kivaa ward, causing fear and panic among residents.
On Twitter, Kenyans poked fun at Governor Mutua’s statement.
“Zimeenda kunywa maji zirudi,” said @ole_letoya.
“You want to take credit for locust flying on their own,” wrote @pkamet.
“It’s been more than a week, zimekula zikashiba. Then a leader like you wakes up in the morning to tell us how the locust flew away,” commented @jwanyonyi.
“Tumeziroga hazionekani,” stated @BazengaO.
“Zilienda ju hakuna kitu ya kukula macha,” wrote @Mitereniaka.