Two missing Marigat children found dead in a canal

Relatives console a woman after the body of her four-year-old son was retrieved from a canal in Mariga town on July 26, 2018. PHOTO | FLORAH KOECH | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The bodies of the two children, both aged four years, were pulled out of a canal on Thursday evening.
  • Neighbours told parents they had last seen the children playing near a canal that drains into River Perkerra.
  • The bodies were found in the canal after residents blocked water from draining into the it.

A sombre mood engulfed Marigat town in Baringo County after two nursery school children, who went missing on Tuesday, were found dead.

The bodies of the two children, both aged four years, were pulled out of a canal on Thursday evening.

The two children were neighbours at Marigat Inn Estate.

Mr Abbas Yusuf, one of the children's father, said he picked up the two kids from St Paul’s Mission School on Tuesday afternoon as he always does and left his son at his home with his wife and took the other child to their home.

“The other child was a friend of my son. I left him [my son] at home and took the other child to his home,” narrated the distraught Mr Yusuf.

Mr Yusuf said his son was given tea and shortly after left, saying he wanted to go and play with his friend at the neighbourhood.

“He came after 20 minutes and then went back, saying he was just playing with his friend at a nearby kiosk adjacent to our house,” he added.

According to Yusuf, his wife concerned after their son failed to return at about 6pm, went out to look for him but she couldn't find him anywhere.

The neighbours said they had seen the children playing near the kiosk.

“We searched for them until midnight, but we could not find them. This prompted us to report the incident at Marigat Police Station, [where officers] advised us to wait until dawn to continue with the search,” said Mr Yusuf.

He said that at first they suspected that the children could have been kidnapped, but on Thursday some people told them the two young boys were last seen playing near a canal which drains water to River Perkerra.

“We then mobilised locals and they blocked water draining to the canal. The body of one of the boys was retrieved in the evening and the other found hours later, about 500 metres from the first one. This is very unusual because they have never played at the canal,” he said.

Confirming the incident, Baringo South OCPD Benjollife Munuve said they have launched investigations to establish what caused the deaths.

“Preliminary investigations reveal that the boys died of drowning. The bodies have been moved to the Baringo County Referral Hospital morgue in Kabarnet for a post mortem,” said Mr Munuve.

In a separate incident, a prison officer in Logumgum in the same sub county has gone missing.

According to locals, the warder, Johnson Leterer Olekiskel was heading to his home from the nearby Logumgum shopping centre on Wednesday evening when he disappeared.

Confirming the incident, the OCPD said that some documents and clothes belonging to the missing warder have been found on the shores of River Molok.

“We are still continuing with the search of the missing warder, but his documents and clothes have been found at Molok River. We are also yet to know where he is attached at,” said Mr Munuve.