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{
    "id": 986464,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/986464/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 124,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Murkomen",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 440,
        "legal_name": "Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen",
        "slug": "kipchumba-murkomen"
    },
    "content": "Embobut Ward, which is my Ward in Kipchumo Location, Kipchumo Sub-Location, in Elgeyo-Marakwet County. Recently, the country has been experiencing heavy rains and as a result West- Pokot and Elgeyo-Marakwet counties have experienced massive destruction resulting from the landslide in the two counties; more adversely at the Kipchumo and Chesogon Centre. The landslide also left a trail of deaths with over 20 persons. Of these 20 persons, what really saddens me is that most of them are children of between eight to 18 years. One family lost twins who are eight years old. At a place called Katelit, there is a girl of seven years, the twins from Kobir are two, we have others of 11 years with the eldest being a person aged 82 years. There were also those who were 46 and 81 years old. I have never seen anything like this and like I said, this is my home area and this is my ward where we have lost 24 people. I have seen that most of the media houses are focusing on the destruction of the shopping centre in Chesogon and Liter area, but I wanted to say, for emphasis sake, that the real impact where the landslide started is in the highlands. You know it very well because you were an administrator in that area. We have lost 24 people and the news will be trickling in the fullness of time. We also lost police officers who were affected in that area because a police post was swept away. There are 15 people who are still missing and who are unaccounted for. Residents are continuing to struggle with lack of housing, swollen rivers and destroyed roads that have left certain areas inaccessible. In the past, reports have indicated that due to environmental degradation, the two counties are prone to landslides. However, residents who have built their livelihoods in this area have continued to live there having nowhere else to move to. For God’s sake, in 2013, we moved many people from Embobut Forest and so they went to their ancestral land in the escarpments. As a result of that, they put a lot of impact and pressure on the environment in the escarpment and that is why we witnessed many landslides. I wish to reiterate here that these people have nowhere else to live and have no other alternative land. I wish to commend the Government for the quick efforts undertaken to manage the current situation. As a matter of fact, the same evening, the leadership of Elgeyo- Marakwet and West Pokot counties had a conference call with the Deputy President and the following day, the President called among other people, myself, to assure us that the Government is going to do everything possible to solve the situation. Therefore, I want to appreciate them because they sent Government officials to the ground. Mr. Speaker, Sir, little or no effort has been made to account for the other persons who are missing as a result of the landslide and the search and recovery have been left largely to the locals who are ill-equipped to undertake such an exercise. It is so bad that the locals who are carrying out the search, find body parts such as a hand or a leg. It is very traumatising. While I appreciate the effort from the Government, I believe that much more should be done to manage the situation, including putting in place measures to relocate"
}