A Kisii family is in deep mourning after the body of 19-year-old Joseph Orenge Onyancha, a Form Three student at Riokindo High School, was pulled from Nyakwana Waterfall on Thursday, September 3.
Joseph had allegedly been sent home over unpaid school fees the previous day. Rather than heading straight to his family, he joined three fellow students for a swim at a waterfall in the Rianyakiana area of Kisii County.
Witnesses say his first dive went without incident, but the second proved fatal when he sank and did not resurface. The Kisii County disaster management team, with assistance from their counterparts in Bomet County, deployed divers who recovered his body the following morning.
Kisii Grandmother’s Heartbreak at the Waterfall
Video footage from the scene captured the raw grief of Joseph’s grandmother, who broke down as her grandson’s body was brought out of the water
Recalling a life spent nurturing him, she cried out:
“I have carried Joseph on my back. I have moved with him searching for a school, a boarding school. We’ve come all the way from Ekerubo CCM School. Principal Ekerubo CCM, can you hear me?”
A villager who had joined the search effort described how events had unfolded.
“He was on his way home. Joseph was in the company of three students. Joseph dived the first time successfully, unfortunately he sunk in the second dive,” the resident said.
She added that the community had rushed to the waterfall on Wednesday evening upon hearing the news but were unable to locate him until Thursday morning.
According to the area chief, Joseph’s home is in Magenche, though his parents reside in Nairobi.
Ibeno Ward MCA Steve Arika expressed gratitude to both county disaster management teams for their swift response and extended his condolences to Joseph’s family and classmates. He suggested that the teenager may have struck a rock during his second dive.
Arika also raised concerns about the waterfall’s history.
“This waterfall has taken the lives of many people. I call upon Kisii county government to either fence this waterfall or place experts to guide people that want to swim here,” he urged.
The area chief directed pointed words at the school administration, calling for greater parental involvement before students are released.
“I urge the school administration to contact parents before sending children home for anything. The school should only let the children out of school once the parent has approved so,” he said.
