2025: A year that Elgeyo Marakwet witnessed deadliest mudslides

Just months after guns fell silent in the Kerio Valley, tragic mudslides claiming 41 lives shook parts of the troubled region in Elgeyo Marakwet.

The mudslides, which swept through three wards – Endo, Sambirir and Embobut – on November 1, 2025, displacing at least 200 families, were among the deadliest in a county renowned for its scenic hanging valleys.

Nine people believed to have been buried by mud and rocks are still missing.

As 2025 draws to a close, locals from the affected areas recall a harrowing ordeal as debris of mud, rocks and trees swept through villages in the three wards.

For the first time in a community where the dead are buried next to their houses, victims of mudslides were laid to rest in a new cemetery opposite Christ the King Chesongoch Catholic Church and next to St Maurus School – far from their homes, after hundreds of acres of their land was rendered unusable by the debris.

The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) reported that 174 homes were either buried or swept away, while 204 others were damaged.

“A total of 400 households were affected by the mudslide disaster. Of these, 174 homes were either swept or buried, while 204 families cannot inhabit their damaged houses and have been moved to safer areas,” said KRCS North Rift Manager Oscar Okumu.

Locals in the Kerio Valley, which is not traditionally prone to landslides, suggested the disaster could have been mitigated.

An elder, Julius Komen, said residents began moving to the landslide-prone hanging valleys in the 1970s, following intensified attacks by cattle rustlers.

“The massive settlement on the hanging valley has degraded the once-forested steep escarpment, leading to the deadly landslides and mudslides we have seen recently,” said Komen, 70.

He added: “It is not surprising that farmlands in affected areas are now strewn with huge boulders. We hope a solution to resettle people living on the hanging valley is expedited in 2026 to avert future disasters.”

Several key roads, including Chesoi-Tirap-Moror, Chesoi-Chesongoch and Tot-Chesongoch, were extensively damaged and rendered impassable by mud and rock boulders.

Motorists were forced to access parts of Embobut-Embolot ward via the hilly Sambalat-Maron road and Kapyego-Kapchoge-Chepkoit route.

The government has been criticised for ignoring warning signs of potential landslides months before the November 1 tragedy.

In May, for instance, an earth crack raised fears of landslides along the Keiyo escarpments as heavy rains battered parts of the North Rift region. 

The deep fissures led to the temporary closure of the Nyaru-Fluorspar-Kapkayo-Tenges road.

Resident Kenneth Mutai said a huge crack developed in Turesia in May after prolonged heavy rains. He added that mudslides also affected several areas, with Kaptoror village being worst hit.

“The May 2025 mudslides evoke memories of 2020, when heavy rains swept through farms and caused widespread displacements along the escarpments,” he said.

The Elgeyo Marakwet disaster has revived memories of previous landslides. In April 2020, a mudslide killed 26 people and destroyed homes and farmlands in Chesegon, near the county’s border with West Pokot.

Another catastrophic landslide hit Kaben location in April 2010, causing 14 deaths, multiple injuries and house destruction.

The El Niño rainstorms of 1961 triggered landslides in Kaben, reshaping the Embosumer River and scattering large boulders across farmlands.

Residents say the hanging valleys of Elgeyo Marakwet have become death traps – scenic and imposing but unsuitable for settlements or farming.

Government authorities now warn that locals in landslide-prone areas must choose between relocating to the banditry-prone Kerio Valley or remaining on precarious escarpments.

In 2026, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, a native of the affected area, said the government would move people out of landslide-prone zones.

“The Ministry of Environment will issue a directive for people to vacate the escarpments,” Murkomen said.

He explained that frequent banditry in the Kerio Valley had forced residents to settle along dangerous escarpments.

“The Kerio Valley is now peaceful. The security threat previously pushed many people to the escarpments, resulting in settlements and cultivation that ultimately led to landslides,” Murkomen said.