People die as row rages

The row between the government and the World Food Programme over the distribution of relief food is quite unfortunate.

Apparently, the relief agency is making demands on who should give out the food, a move the government is viciously opposed to.

But as the two parties engage in an unseemly spat, hundreds of people are starving in the traditionally food-deficient regions of Northern Kenya and other areas.

Admittedly, both sides have valid reasons for holding fast to their positions. But here we are dealing with a matter of life and death.

It is inconceivable that people should be dying of hunger when there is food in stores, just because of conceptual differences between the relevant authorities.

There is evidence that the relief food has been misappropriated and the programme badly managed in the past. But that is not to say that there are no cases of good practices to be emulated.

The government and the WFP must resolve their differences quickly and resume distribution of relief food. People cannot die of hunger just because some bureaucrats differ over the logistics.