Mudslides rekindle memories of tragedies that have rocked Elgeyo

The mudslide that swept through three wards in Elgeyo Marakwet killing 26 people and displacing at least 200 families is one of the deadliest disasters in a county that boasts of scenic hanging valleys.

But the picturesque escarpments have remained a deathtrap where, for decades, hundreds of residents have been buried in a series of disasters triggered by heavy rains.

On Sunday, locals in the affected villages in Chesongoch, Murkutwa, Kabetwa, Embobut and Kaben areas were yet to come to terms with the tragic mudslides and rock falls that buried tens of people.

A search and rescue operation spearheaded by multi agency teams drawn from the military, police, National Youth Service and Kenya Red Cross entered day two, yesterday.

The Friday night and Saturday morning disaster, according to locals, started with thunderous rumbles that preceded a deluge before massive runoffs, mud and rocks descended the Marakwet East escarpments with force never witnessed in the history of landslides and mudslides in the area.

The catastrophic mudslides swept across parts of Sambirir, Endo and Embobut wards.

Brenda Kilimo, who lost acres of arable land in Chesongoch after narrowly surviving death yesterday said the rumbling at the escarpments happened at night and was initially ignored by locals who assumed that it was normal rains pounding the area. “I woke my husband up and we discovered that there was a lot of mud. We evacuated the children and took them to a safe ground,” said Kilimo.

She narrated: “As we looked for a safe place for my family about 2 am on Saturday, we heard distress calls from neighbours and we discovered that their homes were marooned by mud and rocks were falling from the escarpments to the valley. We could feel the falling, even in the dark and amidst the rains.”

Alongside her husband, Kilimo says they attempted to rescue an injured elderly woman in their neighborhood in Chesongoch but they found one of her children had died and two others had been buried by the huge debris.

“Two of my neighbour’s children are still missing. The rescue teams are yet to locate their bodies. We managed to rush their mother to Chesongoch Mission Hospital but upon arrival, the facility had been rendered inaccessible. Medics at the facility converted lodges at the nearby nuns’ convent into a treatment centre because a big number of injured locals were brought into the hospital,” Kilimo said.

She said bodies of locals swept away by runoffs as well as those of goats and cows were strewn in areas near Embolot River which burst its banks. “I saw the bodies of two women who were swept away by the raging waters. It was one of the saddest moments,” she said.

Paul Kimutai said rock boulders and mud swept away the intake of a mega irrigation project in Murkutwa and blocked an already bursting Embolot River, causing flooding downstream and cutting off Chesongoch-Tot road.

Last evening, the government issued conflicting figures in the number of casualties from the Saturday tragedy.

The Interior ministry said seven more bodies had been retrieved from debris pushing the death toll to 29 but later on, revised the figures to 26 deaths.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said 25 people were still missing while 26 others were fighting for their lives at the Eldoret-based Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and other facilities in the county.

The Elgeyo Marakwet disaster rekindled memories of other devastating landslides and mudslides that have rocked the hilly county since the 1960s.

In April 2020, a deadly mudslide killed 26 people and destroyed several homes and farmlands in Chesegon along the county’s border with West Pokot.

Another catastrophic landslide hit Kaben location, resulting in 14 deaths, an unknown number of injuries, and destruction of houses in April 2010.

El-Nino rainstorms of 1961 caused a major trauma in 1961,  after it triggered landslides in the escarpment of Kaben location. The landslides reshaped Embosumer River and left huge boulders scattered over many farmlands.

CS Murkomen, who comes from the affected area said the government was mooting a lasting solution to the killer mudslides.

According to Murkomen, locals were forced to live along the landslide-prone escarpments by frequent banditry attacks along the Kerio Valley.

“The Kerio Valley is now peaceful. The menace pushed many people to the escarpments resulting in settlements and cultivation, leading to landslides,” Murkomen said.

Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said the multiagency team deployed in the search and rescue operations was working round the clock to evacuate vulnerable residents to safe grounds.

The government spokesperson said at the Eldoret airstrip, which has turned to a command centre in the rescue operations.

He further reported that 29 people were still missing following the horrendous mudslides.

“The military, the police and the National Youth Service and the National Disaster Operations Centre, the Kenya Red Cross Society and MTRH are undertaking the rescue operation,” said Mwaura.

He said the multi agency team was taking relief services to displaced locals, which the Kenya Red Cross estimated at nearly 500 families.

Kenya Red Cross North Rift regional manager Oscar Okumu said the society had deployed drones and other modern equipment to help in the search and rescue operations.

“We are using technology to help in the rescue because many roads in the area are still impassable. We have already set up a tracing desk to help in connecting families with their missing loved ones and to support information sharing,” Okumu said.

Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku said the government will fully cater for the hospital bills and settle burial expenses for victims of the tragedy.

“All the medical and burial expenses will be met by the government of Kenya. These are the instructions from President William Ruto,” the CS said.

Ruku said government agencies and ministries were under instructions to support the search and rescue mission.