Raging mud leaves misery in its wake
Emptiness. That is the word that aptly captures a village that was hit by a landslide in West Pokot County on Friday night.
Sharp cries of the hungry children fill the air as their parents watch helplessly at the empty land.
When a team of reporters from People Daily and K24 TV arrived at the village yesterday, desperate survivors crammed at Nyarkulian Primary School, waiting for aid to arrive, more than 24 hours after the tragedy.
That is not surprising, considering it took us two and a half hours to get to the school where the villagers had sought refuge.
We got stuck in the mud six times – three times when going up and three when coming down. The rough terrain and the fog that hindered visibility made it difficult to reach the village.
Pick the pieces
The village, which had more than 100 grass-thatched homes and in which over 2,000 people lived, was swept clean by the raging flow of mud and water and now looks like it was run over by tractors.
Yesterday, what was left of the village hang precariously on a cliff, as survivors tried to pick the pieces of what was left of their homes and lives.
Some were digging through the mud trying to establish where their homes once stood.
It was a scene to behold as the three villages situated in the steep of the valley where the tragedy occurred following the raging water and mud that swept away scores of families, houses and livestock remained desolate.
In Nyarkulian sub-location people from three villages — Tamkal, Paru and Cheptonge — had been evacuated to the school to avert further loss of lives.
But the villagers’ woes are far from over as they are yet to get food and other essentials from the government and other aid agencies.
President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the deployment of rescue personnel and humanitarian help to the affected areas.
