A Grade 2 pupil was on Wednesday evening swept away by floods in Milimani area, Nakuru County, after a heavy downpour led to severe flooding in several parts of the city.
The family says the 8-year-old boy was heading home from school when he accidentally slipped into a roadside drainage trench.
Police reports indicate that Glen Karanja, who studies at Lenana Primary School, was heading home from school when he fell into an open trench that had turned into a dangerous water stream due to the heavy rain.
“Mtoto wangu anasema wamejaribu kumvuruta wakashindwa, wakaona akitembea na maji… hatukuwa tunajua kutaenda hivi,” said Miriam Karanja, an aunt to the deceased.
The deceased’s mother, Priscilla Karanja, says her third-born son left school at 3:30pm, as is usual—only that this time round, a regular school day ended in unimaginable tragedy.
“Nimepigiwa simu nikaambiwa mtoto amenyeshewa sana, wanasema mtoto ameenda na maji… ametolewa hapa kama amekufa,” said Priscilla.
Karanja’s body was discovered a few meters from where the incident happened.
Police officers from Nakuru West retrieved the body and transferred it to the Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue.
