Elgeyo Marakwet landslide victims laid to rest as residents urged to relocate
A somber mood engulfed Kipkenda Village today as residents gathered to bid farewell to the late Albina Ngeringwony Kipkosgei and her grandson, Amon Kiprono, who died in a tragic incident when a massive boulder broke loose and crushed their home.
The incident, which occurred on November 2, 2025, instantly claimed the two lives while they were having supper in their house at 8:00 pm.
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Speaking on Friday, November 14, 2025, at the burial ceremony in Kipkenda Village, Keiyo North Constituency, Elgeyo Marakwet County, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen stressed the need for residents, especially those living in high-risk areas, to have alternative housing.
Also watch: CS Murkomen Announces New Strategies to Address Kerio Valley Landslide Crisis.
“We want residents to prioritise environmental conservation as one alternative way to prevent disasters like these from continuing to be witnessed,” he said.
The CS emphasised this as one of the best ways to prevent further loss of life from such disasters.
He also noted that the government is seeking a robust way to relocate agricultural farmers who have encroached beyond the designated boundary, popularly known as the ‘Spencer Line’. This encroachment, he said, has significantly contributed to the destruction of forests and the environment.
This statement was echoed by Elgeyo Marakwet Senator, who urged the Interior Cabinet Secretary to spearhead the relocation of people living along the “hanging valley” in the Kerio Valley region.
Taming landslide effects
The senator proposed that the affected high-risk areas be converted for planting trees such as coffee and avocado. This would promote cash crop farming for residents while simultaneously conserving the environment.
“Our people living in the hanging valley need to be relocated at least to live in a decent and safe place,” Rotich said.
Elgeyo Marakwet Women Representative Caroline Ng’elechei called upon residents to be vigilant and urged those who own land in safer areas to relocate immediately.
On his part, Emsoo Ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) Christopher Cheboiboch emphasised the need for leaders to find a long-lasting solution, especially for those in the hanging valley belt of Kerio Valley.
“We have people from Kocholwo in Keiyo South to Embobut in Marakwet East who are living in the hanging valley who need to be relocated to avoid future fatalities,” said Cheboiboch.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the Chesongoch landslide victims in Marakwet East Constituency, whose death toll currently stands at 38, will be laid to rest on November 21 of this month. Search and recovery operations for the remaining missing people are still ongoing.
