They had travelled home to make their elderly mother smile one more time.
Instead, a night of laughter and preparations turned to horror when a mudslide ripped through Kaptul village in Chesongoch, Elgeyo Marakwet County, burying their homes and dreams beneath torrents of mud and rock.
By dawn, nine members of one family were gone, among them children who had come to help cook and clean for the celebration that never was, leaving a devastated father clutching on memories of a gathering that turned into a mass tragedy.
The aftermath of the mudslide in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County in this photo taken on November 6, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya I Nation
For John Khurha, a catechist and father of four from Kaptul village in Chesongoch Division, Kerio Valley, the November 1 disaster turned a long-awaited family reunion into a nightmare that claimed his mother, siblings, and children in a single night—a tragedy that will forever remain etched in his mind.
“I have lost nine relatives. Two others are still nursing injuries from the Friday night tragedy. I am so overwhelmed and yet to comprehend the occurrences of that fateful night,” he said with a sigh, fighting back tears as he scrolled through his mobile phone for distraction.
Planning for the long-awaited reunion began months earlier when his sisters and their children arranged to visit their ageing mother, Elizabeth Tula Yano, 84, at their Kaptul village home on November 1 this year. The brothers had agreed to host them.
The aftermath of the mudslide in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County in this photo taken on November 6, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya I Nation
After all the plans had been put in place, an advance team comprising some of his sisters and their children travelled on Friday, October 31, to ensure everything needed for the next day’s celebration was ready and to oversee the cooking of food for the expected visitors.
He lived some distance from his mother’s house, which stood next to that of his younger brother, and his children and grandchildren had joined the advance team to run errands.
He recalls everyone being busy that Friday. His lastborn daughter, Anesca Jeruto, 13, and his four-year-old grandson had helped fetch firewood and deliver milk to his mother’s house.
His wife had gone to Chesongoch shopping centre to buy more items to be used in the event, returning late in the evening, and a neighbour had joined the family and pitched camp at their mother’s house.
“I had stayed at home, hoping everything was going on well as planned,” he recalled.
In the wee hours of the night, he heard a loud bang and people wailing from neighbouring houses.
“We rushed out with my wife, only to find almost the entire village had been flattened by mudslides, and the rivers were full. We ran up the escarpment to save our lives, and just minutes later, we were watching our house being washed away,” he recalled.
Mudslide survivors at Chesongoch in Kerio Valley receive relief food distributed by the Kenya Red Cross Society on November 6, 2025 at St Benedict’s Christ The King Parish in Elgeyo Marakwet County.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya I Nation
In the ensuing commotion and the next day, he tried contacting his mother, sisters, and other relatives who had gathered together, but they were all out of reach. He would soon learn that people had been buried alive by the mudslide, although he never imagined his own kin were among them.
When he realised the worst had happened, he called the other relatives who were supposed to travel to the event and told them not to come.
At Chesongoch shopping centre, where locals had assembled to gather information on the aftermath of the previous night’s calamity, the bodies of the deceased began arriving as the Kenya Red Cross search team combed the debris.
The first body to be brought in was his lastborn’s, a Grade Seven student, and that of his 12-year-old niece, who had travelled from Chugor village with her mother the previous day for the reunion.
Other bodies retrieved included those of his sister’s children, Form Two and Grade Eight students from neighbouring Kasegei village, who had also travelled for the event.
Shortly after, his mother’s body was also brought in. The body of his younger brother, a primary school teacher, was recovered the following day, dozens of kilometres away in the Kerio River.
“I am so wounded; I don’t even know if I will ever overcome this grief,” the father of four said, his voice frail as he fought back tears.
The aftermath of the mudslide in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo Marakwet County in this photo taken on November 6, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya I Nation
One of his daughters and a niece are still recuperating at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, while the body of his four-year-old grandson has yet to be recovered.
“We have combed the riverbeds, bushes, and every possible place to no avail. I just hope that we will find him,” he said.
“This is a tragedy that should not happen to anyone. I am now the only surviving brother in my home. By the will of God, I hope we will overcome the grief someday,” he said at St Benedict Christ the King Catholic Church in Chesongoch, where he had joined other survivors for a relief food and non-food distribution exercise.
The family and their remaining relatives are now being hosted by a relative in neighbouring Kasegei village.
Despite the tragic turn of events, Mr Khurha, like many other families affected by the tragedy, faces another challenge—he does not know where he will bury his nine relatives.
“We have lost everything—our relatives, homes, land, and livelihood. As I speak, I don’t even know where we will bury the nine relatives, as our land is now full of boulders and rocks,” he said.
“Where will I even take the remaining relatives? If the government is concerned about our plight, they should help us relocate,” said Mr Khurha, who has lived in the village since birth.
Kenya Red Cross distributes relief food to mudslide survivors at St Benedict’s Christ The King Parish in Elgeyo Marakwet County on November 6, 2025.
Photo credit: Jared Nyataya I Nation
Just recently, villagers had attended a meeting at Chesongoch AIC Church organised by the Elgeyo Marakwet County Government to facilitate the process of land adjudication, where each family was to receive a title deed.
“But now, who will live in such a place full of stones, where you are not even assured of your tomorrow?” Mr Khurha said.
His wife, Ms Nelly Yego, is still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. She appealed to the government to ease their burden by facilitating the funerals and relocating survivors.
“In the morning, I went to my mother-in-law’s house only to find the entire house flattened and filled with mud. Instead of the celebration we had anticipated, we are now planning a burial,” she said.
Four villages in Chesongoch were affected by the mudslide—Kasegei, Kaptul, Kwenoi, and Kipkirwon—with at least 1,500 households affected, according to government reports.
By Wednesday, 35 people had been confirmed dead, while 15 others remained missing.
