Life is back to nothing: Families bury 25 loved ones lost in Kerio Valley mudslides

A joint funeral service will be held on Friday at St Maurus Academy after which the victims will be buried on the same land in Murkutwo, each in a separate grave.

Emotions ran high as families watched mortuary attendants remove the bodies and load them into hearses that later travelled in a slow convoy to Elgeyo Marakwet.

Charles Chelimo, who lost eight relatives including his father, said the families had agreed that all the victims be laid to rest together on their ancestral land.

He said the mudslides wiped out everything they owned, leaving them with nothing to restart life.

“We lost all our animals and crops. Life is back to nothing,” Chelimo said.

Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich joined the grieving families at the mortuary, describing the tragedy as overwhelming for the county.

The deadly mudslides struck two weeks ago, with leaders calling for urgent relocation of all families still living in high-risk zones.

Family members who lost their relatives said they had been devastated by the tragedy that left 38 people dead, more than 50 injured and eight others are still missing.

Eight of the victims were buried on Wednesday after a joint funeral service in Chesongoch. Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen attended.

“This has been very heavy for us. Losing so many lives is quite heartbreaking and we should do everything possible to prevent recurrence of the same,” Murkomen said.

Ben Kiptoo, who lost his cousin, said it has been the most trying period for the family as they watched bodies of the deceased pulled out of the mud.

“My cousin was just a secondary school student with a promising future and we have lost our hope but we leave everything to God,” he said.

During the Wednesday burials, Murkomen said the government is looking for a long-term solution to help more than 100,000 people living in areas prone to mudslides in the region.

“We will work on how to help all those affected even as we look into the long-term solution for all those living in the risky areas along the escarpments,” the CS said.

MPs, led by Kangogo Bowen of Marakwet East and his Marakwet West counterpart Timothy Toroitich, have demanded that all the families along the escarpments be resettled elsewhere.

“This is not the first time we are experiencing such a tragedy but it’s time we have to act and save lives by relocating all those still living in risky areas,” Toroitich said.

Governor Rotich also asked the government to take over the escarpment areas for afforestation and give alternative land to the families.