Grief engulfed Kamutonga village in Mwatate sub-county after a class seven pupil drowned while swimming at a flooded water-pan on Monday evening.
The victim, who was in the company of two other boys, was grazing livestock near the water pan when they went swimming. His two colleagues survived.
Confirming the incident on Tuesday, the Mwatate Sub-County Police Commander (SCPC), Monica Kimani said rescue operations were still ongoing with local divers assisting in searching for the body. “We have divers who are working on retrieving the body of the victim,” she said.
This is the third drowning death in the last three days in the county. On Sunday, a nine-year old boy drowned in Taveta sub-county after he fell into a water pan which had flooded due to the heavy rain pounding the region.
On Monday afternoon, the body of a middle-aged man was retrieved from Voi River where it was stuck in mud. The man, who was a trader in Voi market, was reported missing on Sunday and is suspected to have fallen into the swollen river.
Police retrieved the body and took it to Moi County Referral Hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem.
Ms. Kimani urged parents to carefully watch over their children over the holiday season to avert avoidable disasters. She noted that caution was needed especially with the continued rains that had made rivers and water pans swollen.
By Wagema Mwangi/Yasminn Zuena
