Two drown as festive season turns tragic in Uasin Gishu

Officers from the Fire Department and Rescue Missions in Uasin Gishu County are yet to retrieve the body of a 23-year-old man who drowned at River Soy on Thursday last week.

According to officer incharge of the fire department in Uasin Gishu County David Sitati the officers who comprise divers have been pitching camp at the banks of the river since they received information of the incident from the area chief.

The deceased Elias Musto Tobila from West Pokot County had visited his aunt for the December holidays before meeting his death at the river where he had gone to take a bath.

The incident brought to nine, the number of people who have drowned in the swollen lake since the beginning of this year.

"We call on the residents to desist from using the lake to bath or fetch water for domestic use as it has become very slippery and swollen following the heavy rains," warned Mr Sitati.

The official gave the numbers 0706389888 or 0710646464 which can be used for emergencies including fire outbreaks or drowning incidences.

In a separate incident in Kesses sub-County, a 27-year-old boda boda drowned in a swimming pool of a hotel as he and other revelers enjoyed ahead of Christmas Day.

Police said a group of young men about 20 checked in at the said place and paid for swimming pool services at about 1pm on December 24.

The other group told police they had been swimming for two(2) hours until 4pm when they realised Dennis Kemboi--a boda boda rider at Chepkoilel stage within Eldoret town--was inside the deeper side of the swimming pool.

He had accidentally drowned. They tried to rescue him, but they didn't make it due to the force of water, said a police report.

Police were called to the scene and moved the body to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) mortuary pending autopsy and other investigations.

A team of detectives visited the scene as part of the probe into the tragedy.