Whoever said troubles come in doubles might have had the Kerio Valley in mind. While banditry and cattle rustling incidents in the Kerio Valley have abated, Elgeyo-Marakwet County has suffered another calamity; massive landslides.
Until eight months ago when the government subdued perpetrators and sponsors of banditry and cattle rustling, Marakwet had known no peace. Today, the region is in mourning following fatal landslides, aggravated by human activities such as deforestation, cultivation and construction along the escarpment. This time, Chesongoch witnessed more severe landslides than before. More than 30 lives were lost and 25 people are still missing.
Homes and animals were washed away. Roads in the affected areas were blocked or destroyed. Police, military, aid agencies and community members are assisting with the search and rescue operations. President William Ruto’s intervention, when he directed Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to oversee the operation, has ameliorated the situation. Military helicopters have helped in the evacuation of the injured to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
This is not the first time that the region is witnessing floods and landslides. In 2010, Kittony village in Kaben Location along the Kerio Valley experienced landslides that killed 15 people. Property worth millions of shillings was also destroyed.
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In 2020, landslides hit Liter and Chesegon along the borders of Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot, killing 18 people among them two police officers. Buildings and facilities at Liter Girls High School, including classrooms, laboratory, library and school bus, were washed away during the heavy downpour.
Geologists later toured the area and declared it unfit for human settlement. They recommended that families in landslide-prone areas, especially along the escarpments, be moved to safer grounds to avoid another catastrophe.
But despite the recommendations, no action was taken. People continued farming and little or no effort to plant trees in the affected areas. As the population grows, the economic and societal costs of landslides will continue to rise unless urgent measures are taken to remedy the situation.
The government appointed the Embobut Task Force Committee in 2009 to address encroachment and destruction of the Embobut Forest, a critical water tower in the Cherangany Hills to resolve the long-standing conflict over land between the communities living there, particularly the indigenous Sengwer.
The task force recommended, among other things, that illegal squatters be moved out of gazetted forests to allow for restoration. It also recommended that the government provides an alternative and permanent settlement for deserving and genuine squatters.
Yet instead of buying land for the squatters, the government opted to pay Sh410,000 to each of the squatters. Some of them did not buy land. This forced most of the squatters to live around the forest areas and along the escarpments, engaging in farming activities, causing more deforestation, which has led to landslides.
To avert such calamities in future, the government should declare escarpments no-man’s land, resettle the residents elsewhere and embark on a serious afforestation exercise.
Bethuel Kaino works at the Presidential Communication Service Unit
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By Bethwel Kaino