LANDSLIDE UPDATE: Survivor Recounts The Anguish Of Losing Mother, Niece
Kelvin Kiplagat of Kipkenda village in Keiyo, North of Elgeyo Marakwet County, is fortunate to be alive.
Kiplagat, who has lived in the area for 30 years, had just left his house to take a bath on Sunday last week when a horrific landslide hit the village, killing his mother and niece.
Kiplagat left his mother, Albina Kosgei, 67, and his two-year-old niece in the house while they were making supper just minutes before calamity hit.
“Immediately after entering the other house, I heard a loud roar from outside, and when I looked towards the house, I saw that a huge rock had crushed it,” Kiplagat recalls.
“I immediately ran to check if people were still there, but there was no one.”
Salina Kirop, a grandmother from Elgeyo Marakwet, is still grieving after losing five family members in a landslide tragedy that struck the area on November 1, claiming the lives of her husband, son, and three grandchildren.#KTNPrime#KTNAt35 pic.twitter.com/0LWr5ljKpY
— KTN News (@KTNNewsKE) November 6, 2025
Kiplagat claimed that after failing to see or locate the occupants inside the crushed house, he decided to take action and look for his niece, who was sleeping nearby.
He stated that he was compelled to accept the awful reality after seeing how the rocks crushed and demolished their home, taking the lives of his mother and niece.
Another boy survived the horrible disaster after the boulders raised the mattress he was lying on, and the corrugated iron sheets miraculously covered him, keeping him alive despite his injuries.
Kiplagat, visibly upset, stated that he no longer believes their home is a safe place to dwell because of the recent incident, which was highly traumatizing and saddening.
“Since we started living here, that rock has been up there, and there are still many more up there, and we don’t know when disaster will strike again,” said Kiplagat.
He urged citizens who are still living in unsafe locations to take decisive action and relocate to safer areas to avoid future calamities.
According to the family spokesperson, Alexander Korir, plans are underway to hold a special prayer ceremony and traditional cleansing ritual at the site of the tragedy.
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“These people fell into that hole, and not all their body parts were recovered. That is why we must perform a special ritual,” Korir explained.
This comes as the death toll from another big landslide in Chesongoch, Marakwet East, has risen to 36, while search efforts continue.
Sixteen people are still missing. On Wednesday, another body was discovered, and the search for more victims is ongoing.
LANDSLIDE UPDATE: Survivor Recounts The Anguish Of Losing Mother, Niece
