Met Dept Boss Blame President Ruto Over El Nino Misinformation
David Gikungu, the director of the meteorological department, claims he is unsure of the source of the erroneous information informing President William Ruto that the department has reduced its El Nino phenomena alert.
On October 22, Ruto announced at a church service in Nairobi’s Dagoretti neighborhood, “You see the department has now said there will be no El Nino, we will only have significant rains, which is even better for us to get to our farms and produce more.” He said the department had reduced its El Nino alert to brief downpours.
He even claimed that his prayers at the Nyayo National Stadium in February had been successful in explaining Kenya’s current drought.
“Someone criticized us at Nyayo Stadium when we prayed for rain.” A entire president, they said, is pleading for rain. Ruto remarked at the time, “Now see, we have more rain than we have had in four years; that is God’s doing.”
His statement ran counter to the department’s prior, May-dated warnings, according to which Kenya was projected to experience an El Nino between October and December, with the potential to extend into January 2024.
El Nino Misinformation
Gikungu now claims that Ruto’s declaration was not brought about by their projections failing to materialize. The Mets manager was questioned on Sunday night about the reason for the misunderstanding in an appearance with Citizen TV.
He answered, “I hope that one day I may discover the truth. The science was correct. There is nothing in the declarations we have been making, or what you would call official communication, that would recommend the El Nino phenomena be abandoned.
Three weeks after Ruto’s declaration, on November 10, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua called the head of the Met Department to discuss the current status of the country’s rains and forced him to apologize for the government’s misinformation on the subject.
Gikungu claims he has no idea who provided the president with the information, and that the purpose of his apologies was to clarify the alleged adjustments to the estimate.
“As the department head, I had to clarify that the forecast has not altered, even if I do not yet know where that information came from. We are all in an El Nino season, as far as science and I am concerned, therefore I felt compelled to apologize for the misunderstanding, he stated on Sunday.
El Nino Misinformation
The director responded, “I am,” when asked if he was worried about the Met Department’s future credibility. I have to be concerned given my position, which is why I apologized.
Meanwhile, the head of the Met Department issued a warning to those living in Kitui County, the Northeast, and the eastern Rift Valley highlands to exercise extreme caution because more rain is predicted for this coming week.
He also cautioned Nairobi that it would experience some of this week’s additional rainfall due to its proximity to the Rift Valley’s eastern highlands.
Gikungu predicts that the rains will probably continue till the end of January 2024.
According to the administration, 33 counties are now affected by the El Nino rains, up from the original 19 counties.
El Nino Misinformation
