This archive report was first published on 9 December 2019.
Two weeks after the catastrophic landslides in West Pokot, survivors are still reeling from the loss of their loved ones and the destruction of their homes.
Chebokamoi Loiwena, a mother of three, is one of the many who have been left without a place to call home. Her children were swept away by the deadly deluge, and she is now struggling to come to terms with the loss.
According to West Pokot director of meteorological services Wilson Lonyangole, temperatures in Nyarkulian where the evacuation camp is located fall to as low as four degrees celsius. The camp is about 3,000 metres above sea level.
Loiwena and other women with young children are finding it unbearable to stay in the camp, which is exposed to extremely cold weather. They are calling for the government to relocate the camp to a warmer area, where they can start their lives again.
At least 150 locals displaced by the mud and landslides have vowed never to go back to the area hit by the disaster. They are demanding that the government relocate the camp to an area with habitable weather conditions, to avoid other incidents in future.
West Pokot County reported that 52 people died, but the State maintains that 43 people perished. The government has promised to offer Sh50,000 to cater for the burial of each of the dead residents.
Chairman of the camp Joseph Ng'esarich says the 150 people at Nyarkulian Primary School were sleeping in the camp while hundreds of other locals were being housed by relatives in safer areas.
West Pokot County Commissioner Apollo Okello has announced that all three camps of Nyarkulian, Paroo and Parua primary schools will be closed before Christmas. Displaced residents will be given building materials and returned to their homes ahead of schools reopening in January.
