Students of Riokiondo Boys High School travelled to Magenche, in Bomachoge Chache, Kisii County, to say a final goodbye to their classmate Joseph Orenge Onyancha, a Form Three student who drowned at Nyakwana Waterfall.
Joseph had allegedly been sent home to collect school fees when the tragedy occurred. He reportedly joined friends for a swim at the waterfall and never made it back.
A search operation that stretched well into the night ended the following day when divers recovered his body from the water.
Classmates Left Heartbroken at Burial
The burial drew an emotional gathering of family, friends and fellow students. Videos and photographs from the ceremony showed young men visibly devastated, with some seated beside the coffin, their faces heavy with grief.
Others stood under the tent with their arms wrapped around themselves, while some quietly filed past to view the body one last time.
The sight of their classmate in a coffin, about to be lowered into the ground, proved too much for many of those present.
One of Joseph’s close friends delivered a tribute during the funeral programme that captured the pain felt by those who had shared classrooms and corridors with him.
“He left school and headed for fees and bided us goodbye in class, we never knew that was his last and final goodbye. We walked the journey with you and weathered the storm but why did you have to leave too soon,” he said.
Community Mourns the Young Student The loss reverberated beyond the school gates, drawing condolences from members of the wider community who expressed their sorrow online.
Anna Nyaboke:
“All the way from mageche to nyakwana aki shetani.”
Phylis Moraa:
“Sorry,adi alipitishwa huku nyansongo yesterday aki i cried but receive my condolecence.”
Teacher Brenda:
“May God strengthen the family and Riokindo fraternity at large.”
Joseph’s death has left a deep wound in the Riokiondo Boys community, with students and teachers alike coming to terms with the sudden loss of a young man whose final goodbye to his classmates, spoken casually in a classroom, turned out to be permanent.
