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More than 40 people have been confirmed dead after a series of landslides struck the mountainous border region between Kenya and Uganda last week, leaving dozens more missing and entire communities in mourning.
On the Kenyan side, grief has engulfed Kaptul village, where Felix Kemboi, 30, told the BBC he lost seven relatives, including his grandmother, two sisters, and an uncle.
“I lost a grandmother, a maternal aunt, an uncle, two sisters, a family friend and a cousin,” he said, struggling to hold back tears.
Authorities in both countries have deployed search and rescue teams as heavy rains continue, raising fears of more landslides in the coming days.
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Kenya’s Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen warned that continued rainfall has heightened the risk of landslides, particularly along the Kerio Valley region, and urged residents to move to higher ground.
At least 14 schoolchildren were among those killed in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley area, according to the Education Ministry.
Across the border in eastern Uganda, survivors have shared harrowing accounts of how the disaster struck without warning.
“We were sleeping at night, then we heard a huge sound… The neighbours came shouting, ‘Wake up! ‘The mountain is coming!’ recalled Helda Narunga Masai, who lost her niece and brother in Kween village.
In Kapchorwa, three children and a woman from the same family also perished. The Uganda Red Cross says at least 18 people have died and about 20 others remain missing across Kapchorwa, Bukwo, and Kween districts.
Rescue efforts have been hampered by blocked roads and difficult terrain, with local teams using rudimentary tools to dig through thick mud in search of victims.
Experts have long warned against building homes on the steep slopes of the region, where landslides are a recurring hazard. In 2010, a massive landslide in Bududa, Uganda, killed about 300 people, one of the country’s worst natural disasters.
The Ugandan government has announced compensation packages for victims’ families—5 million shillings ($1,300) for each bereaved family and 1 million shillings for survivors. The Kenyan government has yet to confirm any such support.
As rains persist, authorities in both countries are urging vigilance, fearing that the worst may not yet be over.
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