Kiambu has become the latest county to be invaded by the locusts which have been ravaging parts of Kenya for the last three weeks, destroying food crops and other plants.
The swarms of locusts were spotted at Juja Farm in Juja Constituency ravaging plantations in an expansive bushy area that stretches 11km from the Thika-Nairobi Highway.
So far, the destructive insects which seem not to be confined to arid and semi-arid areas, have fed on soft branches of trees causing panic among the locals..
According to Edwin Wanyoike, a local, the locusts which are moving very fast could result to more disaster as they are headed to major crop plantations in the interior parts of the village.
“We have huge chunks of land in the interior parts of this village and our worry is, if the government will not move quickly and tame them, then we are staring at a crisis as they are likely to invade our farms,” he said.
While the matter seems not to have been getting adequate attention from the authorities, members of the clergy have started a 40-day prayer and fasting initiative to try and chase away the armies using divine methods.
Covenant Clergy Alliance clerics led by Bishop David Kariuki Ngari trooped to the village where they held prayers.
While lauding the government for its efforts in fighting the locusts, Rev Ngari said they will initiate spiritual mechanisms of fighting the menace to supplement what the government has been doing.
Efforts to get a comment from the Kiambu County Agriculture department were fruitless, but an official from Deputy Governor James Nyoro’s office said the matter was being investigated.
