The devastating mudslide that tore through Elgeyo Marakwet County on October 31, 2025, became, paradoxically, the clearest validation yet of a critical and long-overdue policy shift in Kenya’s disaster management landscape. The trauma of the event was met not with the customary narrative of delayed, fragmented aid, but with a rapid, coordinated, and unified multi-agency response, proving that a new era of national preparedness is taking root.
As articulated in public discourse, the Government of Kenya has definitively moved from a reactive aid model, a scramble for resources after loss of life, to a proactive, risk-informed strategy. This transition is the most consequential step towards resilience since devolution.
The speed with which victims were rescued, casualties were evacuated by air, and relief supplies were delivered demonstrated that strategic planning and coordination are now prioritized over post-mortem measures. The swiftness of this action is the most impactful newness in our disaster response history.
The New Paradigm: Coordination as the Lifeline
For years, Kenya’s response machinery was characterized by silos. Different governmental bodies, NGOs, and the military often worked independently, resulting in duplication of effort, logistical bottlenecks, and tragic delays. The Elgeyo Marakwet response showcased the antithesis of this old system. Under the current policy framework, the response was a textbook example of multi-agency synergy: Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) personnel were mobilized almost immediately for aerial evacuation and search-and-rescue; the National Police Service (NPS) and local administration secured sites and managed access roads; and the Kenya Red Cross and humanitarian partners were seamlessly integrated into the command structure for victim support.
This coordinated effort, orchestrated by the central nervous system of the operation, achieved maximal impact in minimum time, saving lives and mitigating suffering. It is a resounding commendation to the leadership that mandated this pivot to anticipatory action and strategic planning.
The Critical Gap: The Limit of Departmental Authority
Despite this operational success, a profound weakness remains at the heart of Kenya’s disaster management structure: a lack of legislative teeth. Currently, the command centre for this national effort, the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC), operates as a Department within the Ministry of Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes. While this placement provides administrative oversight, it strips the NDOC of the essential institutional autonomy and budgetary control required to enforce a truly comprehensive, national preparedness agenda.
A departmental status creates three critical systemic gaps: Budgetary Instability, as the NDOC relies on ministerial appropriations, often lacking a dedicated, ring-fenced fund for long-term investments; Lack of Enforcement Power, as a Department cannot compel other critical national entities (like infrastructure, water, or land-use agencies) to mainstream disaster risk reduction into their planning, making compliance voluntary; and Institutional Fragility, as the NDOC’s mandate can be easily shifted or diluted by a mere Executive Order, relying on the political will of the day rather than an Act of Parliament.
The Legislative Imperative: Transforming NDOC into an Authority
The solution to cementing the progress seen in Elgeyo Marakwet lies squarely with the legislative arm of government. Parliament must expedite the passage of the pending bill to elevate the NDOC into a National Disaster Risk Management Authority (NDRMA). This transformation is not a bureaucratic shuffle; it is an act of national security and resilience building.
The new Authority’s functions will achieve several crucial benefits for Kenyans: It will establish a Legal Command Structure with mandatory coordination powers and facilitate the decentralization of power through County Disaster Risk Management Committees. Most importantly, it will drive Proactive Risk Reduction and Mitigation, mandating the integration of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into all development planning and establishing comprehensive Early Warning Systems (EWS) that inform the public and enable timely action.
Crucially, the NDRMA will manage a Dedicated Financial & Resource Management system by creating the National Disaster Risk Management Fund, which will secure stable, predictable funding for prevention, mitigation, and rapid response. Finally, the NDRMA will guarantee Enhanced Response and Recovery by fostering a professional Disaster Risk Management Cadre and enforcing a ‘Build Back Better’ philosophy in all reconstruction efforts.
The success witnessed in Elgeyo Marakwet is a credit to the executive’s policy shift. But a policy, without legislative backing, is vulnerable. The National Disaster Operations Centre has proven its operational capacity; now, Parliament must grant it the institutional gravitas and legal authority it needs to ensure that the new dawn of preparedness becomes an unbreakable sunrise. This legislative effort is the necessary next step to guarantee that Kenya’s proactive approach is not just a temporary triumph but a permanent feature of national governance.
Col (rtd) I K Guleid, MBS is a Consultant on Defence, National Security, Gender dynamics, and Disaster Risk Management.
