Possible piece of space junk falls onto Kenyan village.

Experts from the Kenya Space Agency are investigating after a large metal ring fell onto the village of Mukuku in Makueni County, about 50 km to the southeast of Nairobi, at about 3.00 pm on Monday 30 December 2024.  The ring is about 3.5 m in diameter, and weighs about 500 kg, and is described as having been hot when it landed. The current working theory is that the ring may be a separation ring from a multi-stage launch vehicle.

A metal ring which fell on the village of Mukuku in Kenya on Monday 30 December 2024. AirLive.

This is the first time a piece of space junk has fallen onto Kenya, and it is unlikely that there will be a repeat in the near future. To date, no-one on Earth has been injured by space junk, but some cases of damage to property have been reported. This is likely to be an increasing problem, as the amount of traffic between Earth and orbit increases every year, and there is no internationally recognised legal code for managing the debris produced by such events. In December 2024 there were 30 rockets launched into orbit by four different space agencies and five commercial organizations.

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Landslide kills three illegal sandminers in Makueni County, Kenya.

Three people have died and two more were seriously injured following a landslide at Kiongwani in Makueni County, in the Eastern Region of Kenya, at about 5.30 am local time on Tuesday 19 December 2017. The men were excavating sand from a bank of the River Kwa Muvai onto the back of a truck, when part of the sandface, which had been weakened by heavy rain, collapsed onto them. Landslides are are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall. Two of the men were dug out alive and taken to a local hospital, but the others could not be saved. A sixth man, thought to have been the driver of the truck, fled the scene on foot.

Rescue workers at the scene of the 19 December 2017 Kiongwani landslide. NTV.

The men had reportedly arrived at the site of the accident at about midnight, in order to extract sand from the riverbank under cover of darkness. Extracting sand from river banks or beds is illegal in Kenya, as it can lead to problems with flooding and erosion, and potentially even alter the courses of rivers. However the industry is also extremely profitable, leading to surreptitious extraction and occasional confrontations with authorities; one such incident resulted in the death of a police officer in February this year.

The approximate location of the 19 December 2017 Kiongwani landslide. Google Maps.

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