The body of a 76 year old man was discovered floating on river Nzoia eight days after he was reported missing from his home in Marakusi, Lugari Sub County under unclear circumstances.
The body of Mariko Mwavali was found on Monday evening by a local diver near Lunyito about one kilometer from the Nzoia Bridge.
According to the diver Mr. Isaac Sitati Nyikuri, after the deceased’s family looked for him everywhere unsuccessfully he decided to look for him in the river and he found the body stuck on a rock in the river.
“I started searching for him in this river all the way from Marakusi through the Lugari forest to this point where I found the body,” said Sitati.
According to deceased’s wife Abutali Kashagila, her husband left home on the 15th November, 2020 at about 4pm to go and see a neighbour whom he had given a metallic rod to sell for him but he never returned with efforts to search for him being futile before his body was discovered in the river.
However, according to neighbours and other family members the deceased was disturbed psychologically and had on several occasioned threatened to commit suicide by either taking poison or throwing himself in the river.
“I once saved him as he wanted to throw himself in this river a few months ago, I took him home and told his family to keenly look at him because he was insisting he wanted to die,” said Mr. Jamin Muhanda
His sentiments were echoed by Mzee Herman Ongadi who said the deceased had also been forcefully kept from taking poison.
Officers from Lumakanda police station removed the body and took it to Chebaiywa mortuary as they launched investigations into the circumstances surrounding his death.