How stroke of luck saved hundreds in deadly Elgeyo mudslide disaster

Locals mill around the scene of a devastating landslide that killed residents of Kibendo village in Elgeyo Marakwet County on Nov 2, 2025. [Stephen Rutto, Standard]

The fatalities from the catastrophic mudslides and rock falls that hit Elgeyo Marakwet one week ago would have been in the hundreds, but it seems luck was on the side of locals that fateful Saturday morning.

By the following day, 36 people were already dead, and 15 others were still missing in the disaster that swept through several villages in Murkutwa, Chesongoch, Kabetwa, and parts of Embobut, located in Marakwet East.