Families of nine people still missing from the November 1 landslide in Elgeyo Marakwet County have told of the horror of not having closure for the burial of their kin.
At least 39 people in Kwenoi, Kasegei, Kaptul and Kipkirwon villages died in the tragedy, with nine others still unaccounted for, while 32 were left nursing injuries with more than 600 families displaced from their homes.
John Kurha from Kaptul Village, who lost nine relatives — his mother, siblings, daughter, nieces and a grandchild — is in unimaginable pain.
Tragedy struck his home on the night the family had reunited to visit their ageing mother, Elizabeth Tula Yano, 84, and all but two of the 11 people that were present died.
He lost his mother, sister Pauline Yano,46, brother Ben Yego,43, and daughter Anisca Jeruto,12. Others were nieces Doreen Kosgei,11, Yvonne Kosgei,8, Jeruto Kosgei,12, grandson Beran Kipchumba, 4, and a neighbour Juliana Kipkore,33.
However, despite recovering the bodies of the eight people, who were buried on Friday, his four-year-old grandson is still missing.
Caskets bearing the remains of 31 people killed by mudslides at Chesongoch in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County early this month, during a burial mass at St Maurus Academy Chesongoch on November 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
“As we lay to rest the 31 people who died in the landslides on Friday, among them my eight relatives, I am saddened that I am yet to get my missing four-year-old grandson. Even after the burial of the others tomorrow, we will still continue looking for him- that will be the only commitment we shall have as a family, to find him,” said Kurha.
He added: “We have searched for him everywhere, right from where my mother’s house was, to Kerio River, dozens of kilometres away. I really pray to get his body so that I can get closure on this matter and we start rebuilding our lives because as of now, I am very much troubled.”
The victims were buried in one site next to the Catholic Church, with each in separate graves.
“In our community, we don’t advocate burying people in one place, but desperate situations call for desperate solutions- we have no land of our own to bury them because they were washed away by the devastating landslides and some people, just like me, lost several family members,” said the villager
According to Kurha, they will dig a grave for each of his nine relatives, including the one that is still missing, so that when his body is retrieved, he will be laid to rest in the allocated place.
Mourners during a burial mass for the 31 people killed by mudslides at Chesongoch in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County early this month, held at St Maurus Academy Chesongoch on November 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
“For my missing grandson, we will just set aside his grave in the allocated site, place a cross with his name so that when we recover his body, we bury him there,” he said.
Linos Kipchumba, the father of the missing child said that on the fateful day, his son had accompanied his 12-year-old aunt to take some milk to their grandmother’s house who was expecting visitors the following day.
“I was not at home that day as I had travelled away from the village. I was informed that night that a devastating landslide had hit my village and I had to come back, little did I know that my only son was among those that had been swept away. He was among the 11 people who had spent the night at my grandmother’s house and only two survived the incident while the nine perished. My son, sadly, is still missing,” said Kipchumba.
Since the fateful day, he said, they have combed the bushes, along the rivers and even the boulders of rocks looking for his missing minor to no avail.
“We are burying the victims who died in the landslide, but I am so pained because out of the nine people we lost, my son is the only one who is still unaccounted for. We have searched for him everywhere possible but we are yet to trace him but I will not stop until I find my only child, I am certain that I will still find his remains, even if I get the bones,” he said, fighting tears.
Leaders during a burial mass for the 31 people killed by mudslides at Chesongoch in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County early this month, held at St Maurus Academy, Chesongoch on November 21, 2025. Eight people who were killed in the mudsliles in highlands were buried on Wednesday.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
At the neighbouring Kasegei village, Salina Krop is also grappling with the same challenge after losing five relatives to the tragedy.
She indicated that her husband, Ben Kiplagat Kilekwa, her son Shadrack Kiplagat and three grandsons— Bravin Kipchirchir, 6, Bramwel Kibet,4 and Briton Kimutai — died in the tragedy.
She told the Nation that she has not only been hard hit by the tragedy, but also one grandson is still missing while some body parts of the other are yet to be recovered.
“I am pleading for the government to assist us. We recovered the bodies of my husband, son, and grandson and some body parts of the others, while one other is still missing. Even as we lay to rest those who died, I am in so much pain because one of my grandsons is still missing while the rest of the body of the other one is also yet to be found. We just recovered the legs,” said Ms Krop who was struggling to explain her agony.
Bernadine Kiptoo said that despite surviving the tragedy, she lost all her children. She narrated that on the fateful night, she was sleeping with her three sons when she heard a thunderous sound from the slopes and a few minutes later, she heard one of the children crying for help before their house was swept away.
She was swept by the mudslides more than four kilometres away from the village — and was later found on safer ground but with bruises all over her body and she was taken to hospital.
“On that day, I was sleeping when I heard a loud bang and I woke up to check what it was, some minutes later I heard one of my children crying for help. That was the last of their cries I heard. We were all swept downstream. I was pushed by the mudslides for more than four kilometres and I managed to cling to a tree before moving to safety, though I sustained bruises all over my body, I was taken to hospital for treatment,” said Ms Kiptoo.
Bishop Dominic Kimengich of Eldoret Catholic Diocese during a burial mass for the 31 people killed by mudslides at Chesongoch in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County early this month, held at St Maurus Academy Chesongoch on November 21, 2025. Bodies of eight other victims were buried on Wednesday.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group
“As a mother, I am so troubled because I have lost all my children in the landslides. To add more pain, one of them is yet to be found while we only got the legs of the others, without the body. I am just praying to God that I find them so that I get closure and my heart to be at peace. We will still need to continue searching for them but I don’t know if we will ever find them,” she added.
Emmanuel Kemboi from Kwenoi village also lost his mother, Elizabeth Tula, 86, two nieces and a nephew in the tragedy.
While the body of his mother was recovered, his nieces and nephews are still unaccounted for.
“We have searched everywhere with a hope of finding the missing children to no avail. We will bury my mother tomorrow (Friday) and we will resume the search. We will not stop looking for them, no matter how long it will take us, even if we get the skeletons, we will be at peace,” said Mr Kemboi.
“My mother’s body was found approximately a kilometre from her house and we fear the bodies of her three grandchildren were swallowed by debris,” said the distraught local.
Luka Kaino Kanda, an elder from the community, said that they will still continue searching for the missing people. However, he said that if the efforts are unsuccessful, the villagers will call off the search for elders to conduct a cleansing ceremony to appease the gods, allow the unaccounted persons rest in peace and have closure.
“If the search hit a dead end after some time, we will be forced culturally to conduct a cleansing ceremony for all the missing people, whereby we will slaughter a goat and invoke our gods to let them rest in peace wherever they are because as we speak, the ground is dry, full of rocks and it is hard to find them anyway,” said Mr Kaino.
