Two Del Monte workers drown in tragedy in Thika River
A search operation was launched after two men were suspected of having drowned in the Thika River in Murang’a County on Thursday.
Police said officers from the National Government Administration Officers visited the scene following reports that the two victims had gone missing after a motorcycle accident at a bridge crossing the river.
The missing men were identified as Jackson Wairagu Wambua, 28, and Paul Ndungu Wambua, 30, both employees of Del Monte Kenya Ltd in the area.
According to police, the two are suspected to have drowned after the motorcycle they were riding on reportedly plunged into the river at the bridge.
During the search, officers recovered a green lunch box along the river bank, which was positively identified by relatives of the victims.
Authorities said several teams have since been deployed to comb the area in efforts to trace and retrieve the bodies. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.
Elsewhere, two other drowning incidents were separately reported in Siaya and Homa Bay Counties.
Police said the first incident happened in Sidindi area where a partially decomposed body of a woman was found in river Wuoroya. A man who was washing his clothes at the banks of the river noticed the body and raised an alarm. Police were called to the scene and moved the body to the mortuary pending identification and autopsy.
In Othoro, Homa Bay County, the body of one Charles Otieno, 59 was found in a pool of stagnant water.
It is not clear how and why he drowned at the scene. Police moved the body to the mortuary pending an autopsy.
Meanwhile, police in Navakholo, Kakamega County are investigating an incident where a 76-year-old man was killed by his son in an altercation.
Police and locals said there was a dispute between the deceased Justus Wabwire and his 40-year-old son over sharing of money accrued from the sale of the family sugarcane.
The said assailant used a stone to hit his father in the head fatally.
He fled the scene as a mob descended on his house setting it on fire. The police arrived at the scene minutes later and moved the body to the mortuary for autopsy amid the hunt on the suspect.
Police said they were investigating murder in the saga.