It’s daily agony, cry Chesegon families yet to find bodies of loved ones

On April 18 last year, Jennifer Biwott from Sewes village in Marakwet East wore her best dress and travelled to an engagement ceremony in the neighbouring village.

She had her day well planned and her daughter, Fransesca, was to accompany her, but she changed her mind just as she got ready.

Determined, Jennifer proceeded to the ceremony, anyway.

That was the last time her family saw her.

That day, the roughest side of Mother Nature descended on them, sweeping entire villages, schools, homes, and a market centre in the Chesegon landslides tragedy.

“I was to accompany my mother to the ceremony but changed my mind at the last minute and stayed home to watch over my younger siblings. I was tempted to go for her along the escarpment but the river separating our homestead and where the ceremony took place was already flooded and flowing fast downstream. I went back home and waited for her but she has never come back,” recalls Fransesca.

Get her dry bones

“It is now one year since our mother was swept by the raging floods and landslides, but we are determined to get her dry bones and accord her a decent send off,” says Fransesca.

Benedict Biwott, 29, Fransesca’s step-brother, holds back tears as he recalls how victims of the Chesegon tragedy met their deaths. 

On that day, 30 people died. Twenty-three of the bodies have never been found.

The devastated community, on the border of Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties, spent 15 days after the tragedy digging in the mud and the sludge, looking for the bodies, before the search ground to a halt.

No hope

Rift Valley Regional Coordinator George Natembeya said then that after 15 days, there was no hope of finding any more bodies after the landslide obliterated Chesegon Market.

“The tragedy is something we have never seen before. Huge rocks came from the hills, battering their bodies into pulp. What we got downstream there were just body parts. It was not possible to get more bodies,” said Mr Natembeya at the time, while calling off the search.

Now, one year later, families like those of Jennifer wish the search had gone on a little longer.

“We do not understand why the government called off the rescue and retrieval operation without tracing our kin who were buried in the boulders and mud. We want to give them a decent burial for their bones to rest in peace. We don’t want their spirits to haunt us and our next generations,” says Benedict as he points at the killer Kipchumwa escarpment overlooking the Kerio Valley.

William Rutto, from Kobil, one of the villages swept by the landslide, lost his 17-year-old daughter, Jepchirchir, who was then a Standard Eight pupil at Mung’wo Primary School.

Permanent scar

And despite performing rituals to appease the gods and protect the family from future calamity, the fact that he has no body to bury has left a permanent scar in his heart.

“We fail to understand how the government could call off a search mission for missing bodies only after a four-day operation without seeking options? It has machineries for such search and retrieval missions and the fact that our loved ones went missing never to be seen again traumatises us a lot,” says Rutto.

A similar fate befell Gladys Chesire, 28, who lost her daughter.

“Despite the fact that elders performed the ritual which entailed slaughtering of a white goat and smearing the entrails on foreheads and legs of family members who lost their relatives, the cultural procedure has never healed our wounds,” she says.

Of the many villages affected by the tragedy, Kobil was hardest hit, losing 16 people. Other villages which were affected are Kakisoo, Kitilit, and Sewes.

County disaster management teams estimate that 500 people have died in small, intermittent landslides over the past 10 years, with Chesegon high on the list of the worst disasters yet.

“I will forever curse the rivers that swallowed my son never to give me a chance of giving him a decent burial. My heart will bleed forever until I know where his remains are. I am not ready to be in conflict with his spirit,” said William Tarus from Kakisoo, whose 18-year-old son was swept by the raging waters that tragic evening.

Tragedy hit twice

For these families, the tragedy hit twice, both times landing devastating blows.

First, the raging waters took their relatives and then a combination of government laxity, the difficult terrain, and time has denied them the chance to give them a burial.

They cling on to hope that one day they will find the remains of their loved ones, giving them the closure they so desperately desire.

But here, on the border of the two counties where the Elgeyo Marakwet and Tugen Hills escarpments create an appealing view in the background, there is just no rest for the residents devastated by that April 2020 disaster.

Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen said the government should have done a little more to find the bodies.

“It was wrong for the government to leave the site before assisting the families to find the bodies of their loved ones,” said Mr Murkomen.

Promised money

After the Chesegon disaster, government officials promised Sh50,000 to each family that lost a relative.

That money has never come.

“We do not know why the government has decided to abandon us after we lost all our valuables to the disaster” says Francis Komol, an elder from Wewo village in Embobut.

His niece was one of those swept by the landslides.

“For how long shall we wait for assistance from government that is supposed to constitutionally protect us and our property even in the event of such tragedies? The support should have been timely,” says William Kirop from Sewes, who lost his 12-year-old daughter, Sophie Jemutai Kirop.

According to acting Kipchumwa Sub-Location Assistant Chief Chelimo Kemboi, it is only four families whose DNA tests matched that benefited from the Sh50,000 government assistance.

“The funds were given only to people who could prove that their family members died. This was only possible by DNA analysis,” says Mr Kemboi.

“The recovered body parts were taken to Tot Sub-County Referral Hospital for the DNA analysis but most were buried in a mass grave after failing to match with the claimants,” adds Kemboi.

He, however, calls for patience from the families, noting that the matter is still under review by relevant government departments.

But the families are pessimistic, saying the government has taken too long to come to their aid.

‘Cursed’ politicians

The victims, who converged at Wewo trading centre where they took refuge following the floods and landslides that swept the Chesegon market, and trading hub for the Pokot and Marakwet communities, “cursed” politicians and the government for abandoning them at their hour of need.

“Most politicians and government officials arrived in helicopters while others drove in using fuel guzzlers vehicles, promised a lot of goodies and hope of a better future but all that has turned into a pipedream one year later. We have been left on our own with no idea where our loved ones are to date,” says Rutto.

Abiud Kiprotich, who lost his son Philemon, a pupil at Cheptany Primary School, however, says Deputy President William Ruto kept his Sh45,000-per-family pledge.

“What we received is Sh1 million from Deputy President William Ruto, with each family receiving Sh45,000 and we appreciate him a lot for his support,” says Abiud.

Ghost centre

A section between Wewo and Kipchumwa sub-locations where the floods passed remains inaccessible, while Chesegon market is now a ghost centre.

“We have nowhere to sell our food crops after the market was swept away by the landslides. The nearest market is Wewo, some 10 kilometres away across the dangerous escarpment,” says Toroitich Meriong’or from Kobil village.

The residents have expressed fears of being hit by another tragedy unless the government moves them to safer areas and supports them to start income generating activities.

Locals from Kobil, Kakiso and Sewes villages, are now appealing to the government and well-wishers to help them get back to their normal lives.

“The landslides occurred during the post-harvest period and some farmers had already harvested and stored their crops. The food stock, together with the ones that were still in the farms, were swept away by floods, exposing 91 per cent of the area to a food shortage,” reads a report on the tragedy.  

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