West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin (left), and his Elgeyo Marakwet counterpart Wisley Rotich join public during a search for bodies at Murkutwo, in Kerio Valley, Elgeyo-Marakwet County on November 4, 2025.
For residents of West Pokot County, memories of the 2019 and 2020 landslides and floods remain vivid.
With heavy rains forecast for the highlands, thousands of people in vulnerable areas face a renewed threat to their lives and property. Authorities have warned of possible mudslides and floods in high-risk zones. They say measures are in place to manage the impacts, but villagers remain on edge.
West Pokot residents in landslide and flood-prone areas are now moving to safer grounds.
Massive rocks at a homestead in Kipkenda village, Keiyo North of Elgeyo Marakwet County on November 3, 2025.
The warnings bring back dark memories, particularly for those in the remote villages of Muino, Nyarkulian, Tapach and Chesegon, where the 2019 and 2020 disasters left dozens dead, destroyed property and displaced hundreds of families.
Houses, schools, business buildings, roads and other infrastructure were swept away, leaving scars that are still visible.
Exceptionally heavy rains in those two years resulted in human and animal deaths, destroyed farms and left boulders and soil mounds scattered in the affected areas.
Many slopes still show cracks from past landslides, heightening the risk of catastrophes.
On April 18, 2020, floods and landslides devastated Chesegon, leaving 50 people dead and displacing 1,500 others.
Houses, trading centres and institutions serving more than 10,000 people in West Pokot and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties were destroyed.
Chesegon trading centre, police post, primary school, Cheptulel Boys High School, Chesegon Technical Training Institute, mango trees, cattle dips and Liter Girls Boarding Secondary School were destroyed.
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich second (left), Keiyo North MP Adams Kisanai (second right), Elgeyo Marakwet County Acting County Commissioner Julius Maiyo (right) and members of the public at a home in Kipkenda village, Keiyo North on November 3, 2025.
Several officers attached to Chesegon police post survived the floods but were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
On November 30, 2019, landslides killed 39 people and displaced thousands in Muino, Nyarkulian and Parua. Many buildings were buried.
“The tragedy is still fresh in my mind, and I don’t see it fading. Whenever it rains, locals struggle to sleep and often sit in fear through the night,” Mr Mathews Kerwatum, a resident of Cheptulel, said.
“The mud, rocks and other debris tumbled down, burying houses and killing many people. We live by the grace of God whenever it rains. The government has failed to move the families.”
Mr Julius Patakol, a resident of Nyarkulian, recalls the cries of his son who was buried alive while attempting to save a neighbour.
“My dreams were shattered,” he says.
Many residents now live in fear of mudslides, landslides and floods.
Members of the public at a home in Kipkenda village, Keiyo North of Elgeyo Marakwet County, where a woman and her grandson died on November 3, 2025, following a mudslide on November 2, 2025.
Muino village long-time resident and a mother of eight, whose house was destroyed, Chepokonjiro Nguletu, adds: “ It was not easy. I lost hope in life.”
West Pokot’s hilly terrain makes many areas – particularly tea-growing regions like Lelan, Chesegon and Batei – prone to landslides, mudslides and floods – phenomena that have become increasingly common.
The most vulnerable areas include Upper Batei, Tapach, Upper Weiwei, Upper Lomut, Cheptulel, Lelan, Upper Chepareria – covering Propoi, Reper, Kosilol and Mtello Hills – and Siyoi, where lightning strikes are also frequent.
The others include Nyarkulian, Parua, Muino, Sakata, Chesta, Solion, Kokotendwo, Karapoy, Kokososion, Sondany, Batei and Seker.
Mr Tito Lopuriang, a resident of Chesegon, says the area is not safe because of loose boulders and cracks on hills.
“Chesegon market is sitting on a time bomb. Being under hills makes the place extremely dangerous,” he says.
Mr Lopuriang urges the government and locals to plant trees, adding that construction in high-risk areas should be banned.
According to the Meteorological Department, highland areas of Kenya should expect heavy rains until December.
Mud flows downhill in Murkutwo village, Elgeyo Marakwet County on November 1,2025. At least 21 people died following mudslides in Elgeyo Marakwet County on Friday night.
“Areas in Pokot South and Pokot Central, including Cheptulel, Muino, Sakas, Chesongoch, Kapushen, Tapach, Lelan and Batei, have the same climatic conditions. There is a high probability of deadly landslides and floods,” said County Meteorological Services boss Wilson Lonyang’ole.
West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin said his administration is ready to handle disasters associated with rains, adding that the impacts could be severe.
“We anticipate flooding and landslides, particularly in Ortum, Kongelai, Kacheliba, Parua, Nyarkulian and Muino, where loose soils increase vulnerability,” he said.
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