NAIROBI, Kenya — The bodies of 25 victims of the devastating Kerio Valley mudslides have been moved from the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary in Eldoret ahead of a mass funeral in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
A joint burial service is set for Friday at St. Maurus Academy, after which each of the victims will be laid to rest on ancestral land in Murkutwo, each in a separate grave.
Family members watched in heartbreak as the bodies were loaded into hearses and driven slowly in convoy to Elgeyo Marakwet. Charles Chelimo, who lost eight relatives, including his father, said the families had agreed to bury all victims together on their ancestral land.
“We lost all our animals and crops. Life is back to nothing,” Chelimo said, reflecting the deep economic and emotional toll the mudslides have taken.
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich joined the grieving families at the mortuary, calling the tragedy “overwhelming” for the county. The disaster struck two weeks ago, killing 38 people, injuring over 50, and leaving eight missing.
Eight of the victims were buried on Wednesday following a service in Chesongoch, attended by Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen. Murkomen said the government would seek a long-term solution to protect more than 100,000 people living in high-risk escarpment zones.
“Losing so many lives is quite heartbreaking, and we should do everything possible to prevent recurrence of the same,” Murkomen said.
Local MPs — including Marakwet East’s Kangogo Bowen and Marakwet West’s Timothy Toroitich — have renewed calls for the relocation of families living on the dangerous escarpments. Toroitich said, “This is not the first time we are experiencing such a tragedy … it’s time we act … by relocating all those still living in risky areas.”
Governor Rotich also urged the government to take over the escarpment land for afforestation and provide alternative land for affected families.
