Following the heavy rainfall being experienced in many parts of the country, residents of Keongo village in the outskirts of Kericho town are a worried lot after the sighting of huge cracks on their land.
The residents first sighted a deep earth crack last month after a heavy downpour at a section of land bordering the road leading to the village whose terrain is flat.
When KNA visited the scene on Friday as rain pounded flood was seen flowing downstream in waves into the 20cm wide earth crack before disappearing into an invisible underground basin.
A farmer, Mzee Andrew Sang whose house is situated some 300 metres from the road where the fault line has developed said he has been forced to move out of his home after he noticed several cracks in his two houses.
Sang, 63, said the houses are now inhabitable since during heavy downpour, underground water seeps into the cracks inside his houses leaving the floor waterlogged.
“I live near the road where the deep earth crack was first seen on April 27 this year and each time following a heavy
downpour I noticed underground water seeping into the floor cracks in my houses. I had to move out of my home and it’s sad that at my age I am now living with my parents together with my family and two children. This is worrying me a lot as I do not know what this strange phenomenon is all about as it has evicted my family and myself out of my home despite living there for the last 17 years,” lamented mzee Sang.
A spot check by KNA revealed that a section of the road downhill 200 metres from the first fault line there is another continuous one about 10 centimetres wide stretching across it.
A villager, Mama Sarah Tonui appealed to the government to send experts to the area as they were spending sleepless night knowing that disaster may befall the area very soon.
Confirming the phenomenon, area Assistant Chief, Patrick Langat said he had reported the matter to the relevant departments.
By Sarah Njagi
