Diving on empty: Raw deal for diver who recovered a headless body in River Tana

Not long ago, Ibrahim Abakora Mamba recovered the body of a headless man, which had been difficult to trace in River Tana.

Speaking to The Standard, the 45-year-old Mamba lamented that despite recovering countless bodies over the past two decades, he has little to show for it.

“I neither own rescue equipment nor have I been properly compensated,” he said adding that despite enduring immense physical and psychological strain, he remains emotionally scarred.

Mamba first took up swimming as a hobby in 1993 before earning the title many now give him—the recovery king of River Tana.

“Beyond that ‘flattering name,’ I have nothing to show for it,” he admitted, recalling his recent recovery of the headless man’s body.

“I had been on vigil for hours on end, from midday Friday to Sunday noon, after reports emerged that a headless body had been seen floating before mysteriously sinking into the murky waters of the mighty River Tana. Those long days of vigilance left me on edge and emotionally drained,” Mamba recalls.

He says that on Friday at noon, then-Madogo Police Chief Evans Chirchir alerted him to be vigilant after a headless corpse was spotted drifting downstream from Adhele Estate in Madogo.

“My immediate response was to deploy the Galkacha Divers Rescue Group strategically on the banks of River Tana, covering the stretch from Madogo Adhele to Maramtu, a distance of about 10 kilometres,” he says.

“It wasn’t until Sunday noon that the elusive headless body finally resurfaced,” he recalls. The mysterious headless body lay motionless, trapped midstream by a log opposite Gasugani Farm in Mororo.

“It was just a stone’s throw from Adhele, where the body had first been sighted,” clarified Mohamed Akole, who spotted it that Sunday and immediately alerted the Madogo police.

Upon receiving the information, a relieved Mamba rushed to the scene after being informed by the Madogo police chief.

“We tied the body with a rope and pulled it out,” Mamba recalled. “The sight was utterly ghastly—sickening and deplorable, to say the least.”

“At the end of it all, a senior police officer, whom I only know as Patrick, handed me a five-hundred-shilling note, which I shared equally with my three helpers,” said Mamba, who constantly ignores his mother’s pleas to quit the thankless job.

“My soft heart and conscience won’t allow me to stop, despite the inherent dangers,” he says, confessing that he deeply empathises with the bereaved.Adding to his two-decade-long, thankless service as a rescue diver—recovering over 100 bodies and saving four lives—Mamba describes this as the worst and most horrifying experience of them all.

Among those he rescued, the most terrifying and bizarre ordeal was when his unappreciated duty forced him into a battle with a crocodile in its own river territory.

Looking back, Mamba recalls, “The croc had stealthily snatched a schoolboy who was bathing on the riverbank. After a five-minute struggle—which felt like an eternity—with my heart pounding, I managed to snatch the boy away from its jaws, saving him from becoming the crocodile’s evening meal.”

Despite his bravery, Mamba says he received nothing in return for the daring feat, in which he boldly poked the crocodile’s eyes to force it to release the boy.

Given the psychological toll of his work, some suggest that Mamba requires regular counselling. “Without psychological support and counselling, his way of thinking could be affected. He needs to be offered professional help,” says Dr Paul Nyawanga, a trained psychologist and counselling expert. He explains that his psychological distress could stem from two factors: empathy for the bereaved or the lack of financial compensation, especially in these economically challenging times.

However, without proper guidance and emotional support, individuals in such demanding professions may turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse, including alcohol, drugs, or miraa, to escape the mental strain.

“A stitch in time saves nine,” he warns. “Ignoring these psychological burdens could have long-lasting and profound effects.”

As for Mamba, he remains undeterred by the dangers of his work. A proud member of the riverine Chanamaro people, he firmly believes that, like his ancestors, he is neither at risk of drowning nor vulnerable to attacks from the wild creatures of the mighty River Tana.