Bondeni village in Chekalini location Lugari sub county was again plunged to mourning after the body of a 36-year-old man was retrieved from Kipkaren River on Tuesday afternoon. According to Mr. Jacob Kwendo, his nephew Wellington Okuyosi was attempting to cross the river by swimming on Monday evening before he drowned.
He said the deceased together with his two friends had gone for a drinking spree across the river at Narok Ndogo village in Lumakanda location and after taking the drink his friends left him alone.
He said the deceased who was drunk and decided to swim across the river before he was swept away by the raging waters. “There was a boy who was grazing animals near the river and witnessed the incident before he informed us,” said Kwendo.
According the boy, Okuyosi was swept away and thrown to one of the rocks in the middle of the river and he managed to get hold of it and sat on it for some minutes, while calling for help. The boy who doesn’t know how to swim also tried to shout for help but nobody responded. “He then stood on the stone, crying for help before he slipped and drowned,” said the boy.
The body was later found and retrieved from the river on Tuesday by a team local divers.
The incident comes barely four days after the body of Joyce Mukhanya Mwofula, Community Area Administrator for Mbajo Community area under the County government of Kakamega was found in the same river Friday evening.