Harnessing the Waters: Turkwell’s Promise to Transform Kenya’s Arid North

By Victor Patience Oyuko 

On Tuesday, a quiet but potentially game-changing chapter began to unfold in the arid heartlands of northern Kenya. Deep within the sun-beaten valleys of Turkana and West Pokot Counties, a powerful current of ambition flowed—not from the Turkwell Dam alone, but from a room filled with decision-makers, visionaries, and leaders driven by a singular mission: to feed a nation and empower its people.

Presiding over the meeting was the Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Eng. Eric Mugaa. Among the high-profile attendees were Turkana Governor Jeremiah Lomorukai, West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin, Principal Secretary for ASALs and Regional Development Mr. Kello Harsama, National Irrigation Authority CEO Eng. Charles Muasya, and Kenya Valley Development Authority MD Mr. Sammy Naporos. But amid the flurry of policy minds and regional heavyweights, one man’s strategic clarity stood out—Irrigation Principal Secretary Ephantus Kimotho.

From Potential to Promise

The Government’s Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda has always carried one bold promise: to feed every household, reduce food imports, and convert Kenya’s harshest terrains into productive powerhouses. For too long, the communities surrounding the Turkwell Dam—despite living next to one of the country’s most significant water resources—have battled hunger, economic stagnation, and environmental hardships.

But now, all that is poised to change.

The Turkwell Dam, long revered as a hydroelectric giant, is revealing a new side to its potential—the capacity to irrigate up to 100,000 acres of land downstream. In the Government’s vision, this includes 80,000 acres dedicated to commercial farming at the border of West Pokot and Turkana, and an additional 10,000 acres each for local out-growers in both counties.

One might ask: If water is life, why has this gift remained untapped for so long?

A Future Watered with Hope

In a narrative as old as development itself, the promises of grand infrastructure have often fallen short at the grassroots level. But Tuesday’s meeting signaled something refreshingly different—a shift from rhetoric to action rooted in community involvement and public participation.

PS Kimotho, a man known more for action than speeches, didn’t seek the limelight, but his fingerprints were all over the new roadmap. It was under his strategic eye that a phased engagement framework was crafted, ensuring not just government coordination, but a deliberate inclusion of county leadership and local communities.

The goal? Maximum food production. But not at any cost. The approach is as much about dignity as it is about development. And Kimotho’s guiding philosophy seems to echo the words of the African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Crops, Cash, and Commitment

The vast fertile plains downstream of Turkwell may soon be home to lush fields of wheat, towering stalks of sugarcane, and acres of livestock fodder. In a country where food insecurity and climate variability remain pressing challenges, the implications are seismic.

And already, interest is stirring. A private investor has expressed willingness to invest in large-scale sugarcane production—a move that not only underscores confidence in the government’s plan but also opens the door for industrial linkages, employment, and agribusiness growth.

Livestock feedlots, another proposed enterprise, promise to revolutionize how pastoral communities manage their herds, especially during drought seasons. This could significantly reduce reliance on food imports and bolster Kenya’s resilience against global market shocks.

One can't help but wonder: What if this model works? Could Turkwell be Kenya’s blueprint for agricultural revival in ASAL regions?

Unity in Vision

The collaboration between the national government, county authorities, and private players marks a strategic alignment rarely seen in Kenya’s development discourse. CS Mugaa’s leadership was vital in harmonizing interests, but it was PS Kimotho’s understated commitment to technical execution and coordination that ensured real progress.

In fact, PS Kimotho’s hands-on style, coupled with his quiet insistence on phased planning and stakeholder inclusion, was instrumental in moving the project from vision to reality.

His role mirrors the wisdom of Winston Churchill: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”

The Road Ahead

The journey to put 100,000 acres under irrigation is not just an agricultural ambition—it is an economic, social, and environmental masterstroke. Job creation, food sovereignty, and community empowerment are now real possibilities for regions that have too often been defined by their limitations.

As the waters of Turkwell prepare to breathe life into thousands of acres, the true test will be in sustained commitment—from leaders, from partners, and from the communities themselves.

But if Tuesday’s meeting was anything to go by, that commitment is already in motion.

And at its centre, helping navigate the waters with calm precision, is Principal Secretary Ephantus Kimotho—not one to chase the spotlight, but clearly one of the key architects of a dream that may soon become Kenya’s greatest irrigation story yet.

When rivers flow, things grow. And as Turkwell flows, so too may grow a legacy of food security, dignity, and shared prosperity.

Article by Victor Patience Oyuko. To buy coffee: 0708883777