The death toll from catastrophic mudslides in Elgeyo Marakwet County has climbed to 30, with an additional 19 people reported missing, Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura confirmed on Monday, 3rd November 2025. The disaster, triggered by several days of torrential rainfall, has ravaged multiple villages, burying homes and sweeping away families in one of the deadliest weather-related events in the region in recent years.

The series of landslides began in the early hours of Saturday, 1st November 2025, primarily affecting communities in Marakwet East and Keiyo North constituencies. Villages including Kasegei, Kaptul, Kwemoi, Kipkiron, and Chesongoch in Marakwet East bore the initial brunt of the disaster, where massive flows of mud, boulders, and debris descended steep slopes, engulfing homes as residents slept. A subsequent landslide occurred on Sunday night in Kipkenda village, Keiyo North, killing a grandmother and her grandson and adding to the rising death toll.

Multi-Agency Rescue Efforts Hampered by Terrain

A large-scale, multi-agency rescue operation is underway, involving the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), the National Police Service, the Kenya Red Cross, and county emergency teams. According to official statements, military and police helicopters have been deployed to evacuate the injured and deliver essential supplies, as many roads remain impassable. As of Monday, 15 survivors had been discharged from various hospitals, including Iten County Referral Hospital and Tambach Sub-County Hospital, while 17 others continue to receive treatment at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret. However, rescue efforts have been severely hampered by the difficult terrain, continued rainfall, and the sheer volume of debris.

A Recurring Tragedy Amidst Climate Change

This is not an isolated incident for the region. The Elgeyo Marakwet escarpment, part of Kenya's vast Rift Valley, has a long and tragic history of fatal landslides, with significant events recorded in 2010, 2019, and 2020. In April 2020, a similar disaster along the border of Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties claimed 29 lives. Experts have repeatedly warned that a combination of factors makes the area a high-risk zone. These include the steep topography, deeply weathered volcanic soils that become unstable when saturated, and significant environmental degradation. Unsustainable farming practices and widespread deforestation have stripped the slopes of vital vegetation that helps hold the soil in place, exacerbating the risk. Scientists have also linked the increasing frequency and intensity of such extreme weather events to climate change. The Kenya Meteorological Department had issued warnings of heavy rainfall for several counties, including Elgeyo Marakwet, in late October 2025, urging residents in landslide-prone areas to be on high alert.

Government Response and Calls for Long-Term Solutions

The national government has pledged its full support to the victims. Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, speaking from the affected area, announced that the government would cover all hospital bills for the injured and funeral costs for the deceased. Relief supplies, including food and non-food items, are being airlifted to displaced families. The disaster has also disrupted the ongoing national examinations in at least 28 schools, prompting the Ministry of Education to make arrangements to airlift exam papers to ensure candidates are not disadvantaged. Amid the immediate response, the tragedy has reignited calls for a fundamental shift from reactive crisis management to proactive, long-term risk reduction strategies. These include enforcing sustainable land-use policies, investing in large-scale reforestation of the escarpment, and establishing effective early warning systems that are clearly communicated to vulnerable communities. Residents in the affected areas have appealed to the government for relocation to safer ground to prevent future calamities. As the search for the missing continues, the Elgeyo Marakwet mudslides serve as a stark and painful reminder of the urgent need for Kenya to bolster its climate resilience and disaster preparedness frameworks to protect its most vulnerable citizens.