For one young man Felix Komen life will never be the same again after he lost six relatives in the mudslides that hit three villages in Elgeyo Marakwet county.
He wept uncontrollably at the Eldoret Airstrip as he waited to be airlifted back home at Kaptul near Chesongoch, where his relatives were killed by the mudslides.
Komen lives in Eldoret and learned of the loss of his relatives soon after the tragedy occurred, causing the death of 21 people, with another 28 admitted in hospital and 30 still missing.
Komen says he lost six relatives, five more are among the injured, while another three are still missing.
“I'm heading back home just to see what is left, but I am devastated badly,” Komen said before he broke down at the airstrip.
Komen lost two sisters, his grandmother, two uncles and a cousin.
They lived in the same home where the tragedy struck, leaving the family completely devastated.
At the airstrip, Komen met with government spokesman Isaac Mwaura, who assisted him to board a police chopper that would take him back to the village.
Earlier he had been to the morgue at Moi Referral hospital, where he viewed the bodies of his deceased relatives and also visited those injured at the same hospital.
Mwaura consoled him and directed medics to offer counselling before he boarded the flight back to the village.
Nurses at the airstrip counselled him as he came to terms with what was so far the single largest loss for a family in the tragedy, even though the search and rescue mission was still ongoing.
Rescue operations continued in Kerio Valley, where KDF airlifted more injured people for treatment in Eldoret.
Public Service and Special Programmes CS Geoffrey Ruku and his interior counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen, along with Governors from the North Rift region, were at the Eldoret Airstrip to coordinate assistance to affected people.
Murkomen said the government would ensure that all those still missing are accounted for.
He said they are also looking into long-term solutions for the residents living in areas prone to mudslides.
“Most of those families moved to live along the escarpments due to insecurity in the lower parts of Kerio Valley,” Murkomen said.
Murkomen said he was grateful for the response by individuals and institutions who moved in to assist residents.
The number of the dead stood at 21, with another 30 people still missing as of Sunday.
Ruku said the government would cover all costs of the tragedy as per the instructions of President William Ruto.
“We will take care of all costs, including treatment of those injured, burials, and after that we will also help resettle those displaced,” Ruku said.
He said the multi-agency team working in the area would not leave until all those missing are accounted for.
He said the state was also airlifting all necessary aid, including food and medicine, to assist over 500 displaced families.
“We have strict instructions from the President to ensure we assist the residents who are going through a difficult time following the tragedy,“ Ruku said.
Also present were governors Wisley Rotich, Stephen Sang, Jonathan Bii and Treasury PS Chris Kiptoo.
Mwaura said KDF had deployed four choppers to help in rescue operations and that counties in the region are donating aid, including machinery to help open up roads in the region.
The team led by Ruku then flew to the region to oversee the rescue mission.
