Tragic drowning in Kakamega sand pit claims three lives

A family in Indagalasia, Mumias East, is in grief after three of their kin fell into a sand pit and drowned.

According to an eyewitness, Emily Mukoya died after she tried to rescue her daughter, who had slipped into an open ditch about 15 feet deep.

However, efforts to save her daughter did not bear fruit as they were all submerged in the stagnant water.

Furthermore, Michael Ambitsi, brother-in-law to Emily, who was looking after his cows at a nearby grazing field, tried to save the two before he was also overwhelmed by the water, leading to his death.

Joseph Mukoya, the husband of the deceased Emily, said that he had gone for his daily work before he was called at around 6:40 PM that her daughter and wife were dead and their bodies were floating on water inside the sand pit.

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"I was almost closing my work to go back home and meet my family before I received a disturbing call that my wife and daughter were dead after they fell into an abandoned quarry that contained water, and she was attempting to rescue our daughter before she was overwhelmed," said Mukoya.

He added, "I was in disbelief and shocked and decided to visit the place, and indeed I found the bodies of my wife and daughter having been retrieved from the water. It is so sad that they died while looking for their family."

Mukoya urged the county government of Kakamega to intervene and help him give his family a befitting send-off.

On her part, Agnes Ombago, the wife of the deceased Michael Ambitsi, opined that she was shocked to receive the sad news just a few minutes after her husband saw her off to a merry-go-round and left him looking after his cows.

"It was around 6 PM when I was with my husband. I told him that I was going to a merry-go-round event in the neighbourhood, and he gave me Sh250 for my contributions and later added some money to buy supper," said Mukoya.

Ombago called on the county government to step in and help the family with burial expenses.

According to Brian Mukandu, one of the local divers, they attempted to rescue the three, but the ditch containing water was 15 feet deep, scuttling their efforts to save them.

"We tried our best, but we could not manage because the water is huge, and by the time we arrived at the scene, the bodies of the three had already submerged into the water," said Makandu.

However, Makandu blamed the disaster and the management team from the county government of Kakamega for arriving late for the rescue mission.

"We have a lazy department in our county. How does the response and disaster management team take two hours to arrive at the scene when the local divers have retrieved the bodies? We feel that had the rescue team from the county arrived much earlier, we could have arrested the situation and even saved the three," he said.

Lusheya-Lubinu ward, Member of County Assembly (MCA) Timothy Anzeze called on gold miners and those doing sand harvesting business to be careful and even suspend their activities until the heavy rain pondering the region subsides.

"We have almost four ditches that were left open after sand harvesting and due to the heavy rains, they have been filled with water, it is my humble request to our people to suspend their activities for a while until the rains stop so that we can prevent more accidents and deaths," said Anzeze.

He added," We are calling for the filing of the four open sand pits so that our people are not exposed to more harm, and we thank our local divers for helping the bereaved families to retrieve the bodies of their kin."

Barely a month ago, Governor Fernandes Barasa urged artisanal miners, borehole and toilet diggers across the county to temporarily suspend their operations until the ongoing heavy rains subside to avoid cases of accidents and deaths.

The governor's appeal came after two young men were buried alive while three others were rescued after the county toilet, which they were digging, collapsed on them at Bushiri market, Navakholo constituency.

Speaking during a burial service in Mumias East Constituency, the county boss described the activities as dangerous during the rainy season.

"We have experienced various cases of accidents resulting from gold mining activities and the digging of boreholes amid rains. I want to appeal to my people to temporarily suspend the activities because the soils are now soft and prone to caving due to rains," said Barasa.

He added, "It is not safe to mine gold and dig pit latrines and boreholes at this time because the ground is not stable and fit for the activities. It is my appeal to our people that let us resume our activities after the long rains."