Kenyans have questioned President William Ruto’s resolve to send emergency relief food to neighbouring Somalia as a huge section of Kenyans grapples with ravaging drought and hunger.


On Thursday, the Kenya Government under the directive of President William Ruto delivered a plane full of relief food supplies to Somalia.

This comes following a suspected terror attack by Al Shabaab in Central Mogadishu on October 29, 2022, in which 125 people died and 300 others were left nursing serious injuries.

The Kenya Defence Forces operatives delivered the assortment of food items, which included dry potatoes, corned beef, onions, bread, carrots and mixed vegetables.

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Also delivered in the same consignment were various drugs which were meant for Somali hospitals treating the victims of the attack.

Commandant VIP wing at the Embakasi airport terminal, Colonel Victor Kang’ethe while flagging off the plane carrying the relief supplies to Somalia said it was a privilege for the KDF to be tasked with the responsibility to deliver the supplies.


Kang’ethe thanked the president for the initiative that will cushion our neighbours from suffering.

"We feel the pain that our brothers and sisters in Somalia are feeling and we are grateful to his excellency the President Hon. William Ruto for this initiative, which will help alleviate the suffering of our neighbours," Kang’ethe said.

While receiving the relief supplies, Minister for Information Daudi Awess thanked the Kenyan Government and Ruto for the positive response to Somalia’s call for assistance.

“We thank Kenya’s president H.E Hon. William Ruto for responding positively and urgently to the call for assistance by our President HE Hassan Sheikh Mohamud noting that the closeness between the two nations is crucial in pursuit of peace and security in Somalia,” Awess said.

But the move has irked a section of Kenyans who are arguing that the government should first address the local hunger problem before extending a helping hand to Kenya's neighbours.


This also comes even as Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has appealed to the corporate world and Kenyan public for donations in form of food and cash to help starving Kenyans in the drought-stricken counties.

Here are a few reactions from Kenyans on social media: