President William Ruto in Baringo during the goat auctioning in Marigat./Photo: PSC/
Farmers in Trans Nzoia County have disagreed over the planned mass vaccination of cows and goats by the government in January 2025.
According to a renowned farmer in the county Fredrick Rono, there is no emergency call to vaccinate their animals, and termed the mass call as politically instigated.
“There is no emergency to cause an alarm and declare a mass vaccination. It was abruptly announced that there will be mass vaccination, all this seems political,” he said.
While addressing the press at his home in Kitale, Rono said previously, the government used to carry out awareness through local administration, of the emergencies, which he said the government should have adopted.
“Earlier, the government used to carry out awareness, through chiefs, assistant chiefs and provisional commissioners of possible outbreaks. but this one being imposed on us by a foreigner is clearly politically,” Rono added.
He said farmers in the region have called upon government to vaccinate their animals from home, to avoid further spread of the disease being foreseen.
“We are being told that its affecting the ozone, which we clearly don’t understand. The government should vaccinate the cows at our homesteads as farmers. The scheduled places is where the animals could infect each other,” he argued.
He further dismissed the new charges for vaccination terming it expensive to farmers with huge number of herds, He stated that, the vaccination was being charged KSh 50.
“We have been paying KSh 50 for services including deworming an vaccination, anything above KSh 100 is corruption. Some farmer have above 100 cows, with the current economic situation, KSh 15,000 is very expensive, that’s why we rather vaccinate at home at a cheaper price, and receive the same service,” he added.
President William Ruto has been championing the mass scheduled vaccination, and harshly criticised those against his administration’s plan.
Rono Said Kenyans have suffered under the promises made by the Kenya Kwanza government, despite making the decree himself, little results have been seen. He said the government should do a mass awareness to farmers before they impose the vaccines on them.
“The president himself announced, talk of SHA, we have taken so much from this government, and suffered as citizens. We want the government to carry out mass awareness on this vaccine they are tough on,” he said.
During the Baringo County Annual cultural festival at Marigat, Ruto’s supporters strongly defended the vaccination plan, and dismissed the opponents as distractors to the development plans by Kenya Kwanza administration.
Former LSK president Nelson Havi disclosed the reason why Kenyans are opposed to the vaccination program by government, as they have lost trust to in the Kenya Kwanza government.
