Several tragedies hit the country in 2024 even as the government stepped up efforts to enhance disaster preparedness and response.
The country faced a wide range of disasters both natural and human-induced hazards.
To respond to the challenge, the government with the support of development and humanitarian partners has in place the Disaster Risk Management (DR) Policy.
The heavy rains and floods that hit Kenya in April-May 2024 caused wanton suffering, destruction of property and inconvenience to the people, resulting in a bigger crisis, especially in education.
The 2024 floods phenomena left lots of destructions and disruptions along the way with many residential areas affected, residents displaced, buildings destroyed, schools swept away, latrines destroyed, roads and bridges destroyed and uprooted, and livelihoods disrupted.
MAI MAHIU LANDSLIDE TRAGEDY
On 29 April 2024, a devastating debris flow swept through Mai Mahiu in Kenya. The latest reports indicate that 48 people were killed and 84 people are missing.
As of May 10, 2024, an estimated 267 people had been killed, 188 injured, and 75 missing, while 281,835 people (56,367 families) were displaced and almost 380,573 (76,114 families) affected by persistent heavy rains and flooding, according to the National Disaster Operations Centre.
In addition, more than 9,973 livestock had been lost, 41,562 acres of cropland and 61 roads damaged, 886 businesses, 1,967 schools, 1,465 water sources and 62 health facilities damaged in 11 out of 42 counties affected by floods.
As schools prepared to be reopened, the government
announced that Sh1 billion was needed to rehabilitate schools affected by the
floods.
The floods submerged or destroyed at least 62 primary schools throughout Kenya
LONDIANI ACCIDENT CLAIMS 53 LIVES
On June 30, a lorry carrying cement collided with multiple vehicles at the Londiani road junction, resulting in the tragic deaths of 53 individuals, including roadside traders and their customers.
The 6.30 pm accident occurred after a truck lost control, running over pedestrians, business people and matatus which were parked by the roadside.
The truck rammed into four matatus, two lorries, a personal vehicle, and a bus.
The truck was heading to Kericho before it lost control and veered off the road, ramming into tens of hawkers who were busy along the Nakuru-Kericho highway.
More than 60 people were rushed to different hospitals in Londiani, Kericho and Nakuru where they received treatment.
One village reportedly lost at least 15 people in the tragic accident at the Londiani Junction,
On September 6, 21 boys died in a fire that broke out in a school dormitory.
ENDARASHA HILLSIDE ACADEMY
The fire broke fire out at the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County around midnight. Over 150 pupils between the ages of 9 and 15 were sleeping.
More than 150 pupils were in the dormitory when it caught fire at around midnight. The average age of the victims was about nine years old, according to the police.
In November, The Ministry of Education ordered the conversion of 348 boarding schools to day school status following a national assessment of dormitory safety, fire equipment maintenance, and sanitation.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba said during the assessment, at least 348 schools were deemed non-compliant, with the government directing they operate as day schools from January 2025.
In mid-2024, security forces abducted, arbitrarily arrested,
tortured, and killed perceived leaders of the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests
between June and August.
Security officers reportedly held abductees, who they had detained without respecting their legal rights, in unlawful detention facilities and denied them access to their families and lawyers.
The protests, organised largely by people between the ages of 18 and 35, gained momentum after the introduction of the Finance Bill 2024 in Parliament on June 18.
Protestors expressed outrage over provisions that would
raise taxes on essential goods and services to meet International Monetary Fund
revenue targets.
However, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has said police officers were more injured than protesters during the youth-led demonstrations across the country.
According to the police boss, 495 injuries were recorded amongst police officers as compared to 347 injuries to civilians.
Kanja also told a House committee that 57 cases of kidnapping and abductions were reported during the period.
He, however, denied any link to police officers terming the
claims propaganda.