Mzee Stephen Munywoki shows a cracked wall at Mukuku Village in Makueni County on February 21, 2025. Cracked walls are a common feature in the region where a rocket separation ring landed after dropping from the skies on December 30, 2024.
Annie Kanuna spontaneously screamed at the top of her lungs, interrupting a lively phone call, as an earth tremor rocked Mukuku Village in Makueni County on the afternoon of Valentine’s Day.
In the nearby Mukuku Comprehensive School, Mukuku Secondary School, and Mithumoni Comprehensive School, learning was temporarily interrupted as students scrambled to safety.
“Kokwookwa ingi? (Have we been invaded again?),” Ms. Kanuna asked a farmhand after the tremor subsided — a reaction that succinctly underscored the tension gripping the sleepy region.
Annie Kanuna poses during an interview with the Nation at Mukuku Village in Makueni County on February 20, 2025.
The anxiety stems from a mysterious metallic object that dropped from the sky seven weeks ago, landing in a forested section of Ms Kanuna’s farmland with an eerie whizzing sound, followed by a deafening thud.
Safety concern
Initially a source of excitement, the object continues to spark safety concerns months after being removed, with the Kenya Space Agency identifying it as a fragment of a spacecraft, possibly a rocket.
“We are traumatised,” said Mr Richard Musyoka, a shopkeeper in Mukuku Township, who has become the face of safety concerns surrounding the metallic object.
When it crash-landed in the neighbourhood, he initially thought it was a plane crash.
He was among the first to arrive at the scene, intending to rescue survivors—a decision he now regrets.
“The metallic ring was red-hot when I arrived, and it was emitting dense smoke,” he said. Today, he complains of severe chest pains, a burning sensation on his face, and fading eyesight, which he attributes to staring at the object.
Mzee Stephen Munywoki gestures during an interview with the Nation at Mukuku Village in Makueni County on February 20, 2025.
A copy of medical records seen by Nation.Africa shows that medics have placed Mr Musyoka on several rounds of treatment for skin conditions and severe chest pains, including ointments, in both Makueni and Nairobi hospitals. However, medics have not directly linked his health condition to the metallic object.
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As safety and security concerns lingered, officials from the Kenya Space Agency recovered the metallic ring, which measured 2.5 meters in diameter and weighed approximately 500 kilograms, for safekeeping.
“While preliminary assessments suggest no immediate threat to public health, the Ministry of Health advises the public to avoid the area where the object was found and refrain from handling any unknown materials. Communities are encouraged to report any health concerns or unusual environmental changes to local health authorities,” Public Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni said in a January 3 statement.
Her remarks came just hours after a team from the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority visited Mukuku Village to measure radiation levels in areas that had come into contact with the metallic object.
Questions unanswered
Seven weeks later, questions about the source of the space debris remain unanswered, as affected residents report cracked houses among the damages caused by the object's impact.
A metallic subject which fell from the sky at Mukuku Village in Makueni County.
“The government should act swiftly to identify the owner of this metallic object. It has caused us heavy losses in repairing cracked walls,” said Mzee Stephen Munywoki as he showed the Nation.Africa team gaping cracks in the outer walls of his main house near Mukuku Comprehensive School.
Mzee Stephen Munywoki shows a cracked wall at Mukuku Village in Makueni County on February 21, 2025. Cracked walls are a common feature in the region where a rocket separation ring landed after dropping from the skies on December 30, 2024.
Dozens of his neighbours have also reported cracks in their houses, which they attribute to the December 30, 2024, blast that preceded the falling metallic object.
“The government should not assume we have forgotten about the December 30, 2024, blast that shook this region. We have not forgotten. Setting up an information desk in the affected area should have been the first step in helping us move on. Apart from providing thorough information on the source of the space debris, the government should compensate those affected by the blast while assuring us of safety from future incidents,” said John Mukunuu, a community leader, echoing the concerns of Ms Kanuna, Mr Musyoka, and Mr Munywoki.
Official probe
According to the Kenya Space Agency, investigations into the ownership of the metallic object have reached a critical stage.
“Our investigation is at an advanced stage. We have established crucial leads, and once we are done, we will submit a report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which will pursue the owner of the spacecraft and compel them to take responsibility,” said Major Alloys Were, a Kenya Defence Forces officer attached to the Kenya Space Agency, in a recent interview with Nation.Africa.
He urged the affected community to remain patient.
To downplay fears that Kenyans are exposed to falling space objects due to the growing number of satellites and other structures in space, Major Were stated that the chances of spacecraft debris re-entering Earth's surface are “extremely slim.”
“In most cases, they burn to ashes. The Mukuku case is a rare occurrence,” he said.
However, his explanation has failed to calm affected residents.
Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo, who has criticised the government’s response to the Mukuku incident as an indictment of the country’s security preparedness, sought a statement on February 12 from the Senate Standing Committee on National Security, Defence, and Foreign Relations.
In his request, Mr Maanzo urged the committee to identify the country responsible for the metallic object, assess the impact of the Mukuku incident, and explain the measures the government has put in place to protect Kenyans from similar occurrences in the future.
