How banditry drove Marakwet families into a death trap: Inside the mudslide tragedy

Section of the buildings  that were swept away at Chesongoch area by a landslide in Elgeyo Marakwet County last week. November 03, 2025. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

Locals who lived in the rolling fields of Kerio Valley were pushed by perennial cattle rustling raids to settle and farm on the Marakwet escarpments, causing mudslides that have so far claimed 36 lives, locals say.

According to residents, the death trap that is the hanging valley can only be good for its scenery, punctuated by imposing rocks and ideal, perhaps, for movie filming, but not for settlements.