Family seeks help to retrieve body of son who drowned after stranger scared him into river Nyando

KISUMU, Kenya, Jan 6 — A family in Ahero, Kisumu County is mourning the tragic death of their five-year-old son, Eden Ochieng, who drowned in River Nyando on Thursday evening at around 6 pm.



The family said 24 hours later since Ochieng drowned, the body was yet to be retrieved.



“My boy died a painful death and 24 hours later we haven’t retrieved the body,” Philip Ochieng, the boy’s father said even as he appealed for volunteer divers to help in the search.



“We have used local divers but they aren’t equipped to dive too deep where we suspect the body of my brother is stuck,” Joshua Onyango, a grief-stricken brother of the boy, added.



The PP1 pupil was expected to join Grade 1 later in January at Our Lady of Mercy ECD centre in Ahero, Nyando Sub County.



The boy is said to have dashed into the river after a stranger scared his playmates, a group of five kids, gathered on the banks of River Nyando.



Ochieng and his friend are then said to have slipped into the river, according to a witnesses.



While his friend managed to hang on a river bank reed and screamed for help, it was too late for Ochieng who had fallen into the river and lacked the skills to swim ashore.



“We have brought 4 groups of local divers but they say where the incident happened is too deep,” said Geoffrey Siaga, the boy’s uncle.



The divers who came from Boya, Awasi, Kasuna and sand harvesters couldn’t dive to the deep end where the body of Ochieng is believed to be stuck.



The boy’s family will be spending the second cold night by the banks of River Nyando on Friday with the hope that the body will float.



“We can’t leave the banks of the river until the body is found,” the boy’s father said.



The family appealed to all relevant authorities to come to their aid noting the retrieval of the body will help them in the healing process.



“I’ve lost a boy and I can’t retrieve him from the deep water. If I can get any support to retrieve the body, I can really appreciate,” said the father. “All we want is to give him a decent send off.”



Capital News