KDRTV News – Narok North: A deepening crisis is affecting Olorropil Ward, Narok North sub-county, where impassable roads are crippling the livelihoods of potato and wheat farmers while also jeopardizing learner’s education. What should be lifelines for the community have instead turned into mud pits, leaving crops to rot and pupils stranded at home.
Narok Farmers and Learners Stuck in the Mud as Roads Becomes Impassable
The problem is most severe during the rainy season. Once the skies open, rural access roads dissolve into deep quagmires, cutting off entire villages. Trucks and tractors ferrying farm produce sink helplessly into the muck, as shown in photos of a lorry tilted sideways in thick, reddish-brown mud near Olorropil Secondary School.
A lorry tilted sideways in thick, reddish-brown mud near Olorropil Secondary School.
“It’s a nightmare,” decried a resident, who requested anonymity. “Our potatoes and wheat are ready, but we can’t get them out. The roads are just mud pits. We work so hard, only for our efforts to be washed away by the rains and bad roads.”
Farmers here depend heavily on their harvests for survival, but with markets virtually unreachable, produce is spoiling before it leaves the farms. The ripple effects are devastating: reduced incomes, food wastage, and growing frustration among households already facing rising costs of living.
The education sector is equally hard-hit. Learners walking to schools like Olorropil Secondary are forced to wade through ankle-deep mud or risk missing lessons altogether. Parents say learners sometimes set out before dawn in an attempt to beat the worst road conditions, only to arrive late or soaked. “My child leaves home by 5 am, and sometimes he doesn’t even make it to class,” said one mother.
Olorropil’s Roads Are Failing the People
Pressure is mounting on Narok North MP Hon. Agnes Mantaine Pareyio and Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu to act swiftly, as residents warn the collapsing roads are crippling livelihoods and cutting learners off from school. The county government pledged to repair and maintain key ward roads under its Comprehensive Infrastructure Overhaul Programme, but residents say progress is painfully slow. “We hear about roads being graded, but by the time heavy rains come, the work has not reached our section,” noted a community elder.
The stakes are high. Narok County is a key part of Kenya’s food basket, with potatoes and wheat among its signature crops. Poor roads mean reduced market access, lower prices for farmers, and a blow to the local economy. More urgently, they threaten children’s right to education and the community’s overall well-being.
For many in Olorropil, the solution is clear: durable roads with proper drainage. Until then, every rainstorm will remain a reminder of how infrastructure failures can stall both livelihoods and futures.
