A family in Igoji, Meru County, is demanding the resumption of rescue operations at Mutonga One quarry, eight days after a landslide killed three people and left another missing.
The family and local leaders have accused the county government of withdrawing excavators before the missing person was retrieved from beneath tonnes of soil and rocks.
The quarry collapsed on October 21, burying workers under heavy debris. One person was pronounced dead on the day of the incident, while two others were later recovered by police and the county rescue and recovery team.
The whereabouts of the fourth person remain unclear, leaving the family preparing to bury their loved ones without knowing whether the missing individual is still trapped beneath the rubble.
Paul Mwendia said residents of Nkumbo were distressed by the loss of three people and the continued uncertainty surrounding the missing worker.
“We wonder as Nkumbo residents, what kind of a government did we elect? Why abandon us at the time of need? Why did they take away the excavator before the rescue exercise was over, because one person is yet to be retrieved?” Mwendia asked.
It remains unclear whether the missing person is still buried beneath the debris or left the scene without being accounted for.
The uncertainty has intensified calls for the county government to explain why the machinery was withdrawn and whether rescue teams exhausted efforts to locate the missing person.
Meru senatorial aspirant Mugambi Imanyara urged the county government to deploy the necessary equipment and ensure the recovery operation was completed.
“The disaster management team should be on the ground to recover the body. I am not aware if the county left before they searched and did not find the person. If it is true, then the county government should use all its resources and machines for the family of the missing person to live at peace,” Imanyara said.
He said abandoning the recovery effort before establishing the missing person’s whereabouts would be inhumane, urging the county to return machinery to the site if the search was incomplete.
