Residents of Utalii village in Mutukanio B area of Mau Narok Division, Njoro Sub-County started the New Year on a sad note after a five year old boy drowned in a well dug at their family’s compound.
According to the area residents, the boy identified as Geoffrey Wanyeki Mburu went missing as his family was celebrating the New Year festivities.
Efforts by family and friends to search for him bore no fruit until a member of the search team noticed that the 110 feet deep well was wide open. The well is normally secured once water has been drawn and family members are at a loss as to who may have opened the well.
Mau Narok MCA, Jackson Githua who had joined residents in the search mission urged residents to take preventive measures to ensure that wells dug across the area were well secured to avoid such occurrences in future.
Githua said that the circumstances of the boy’s tragic death were yet to be understood, as it was still not clear how the small boy managed to access the well or who may have left it open after drawing water.
He noted that many homes in the area depend on wells as a source of water, most of which are quite deep and therefore dangerous.
Area residents were in agreement on the need to secure wells properly even as the family of the deceased tried to come to terms with the unexpected death of their son.
Isaac Muigai Njoroge said the incident was an eye opener to area residents, whom he urged to secure wells properly to avoid witnessing such an eventuality again. He said that the entire village was still in shock given that most homes have wells to provide water for families.
The parents’ anguish is further aggravated by the circumstances in which their son died, which still remain a mystery given that the well was supposed to have been secured after use.
The body of the deceased has been moved to Egerton University Mortuary to await burial arrangements.
By Jane Ngugi
