Police in Matinyani, Kitui, are investigating a case in which the bodies of a woman and her child were recovered on Tuesday stuck in debris in the flooded Mutendea river.
Matinyani subcounty police commander John Sawe said besides trying to establish the identity of the woman and her son, the police were keen to find out how they got into the river. “It is not clear how the woman whose body was found alongside that of her one-year-old son, who was strapped across the chest, got into the water. We are investigating,” he said
Sawe said the bodies appear to have remained in the water for at least three days and were decomposing when they were discovered. The area chief alerted police on Tuesday.
“It was difficult to physically identify the woman as her face had decomposed because of staying in the water for days. We are calling on members of the public who know of any missing woman with a child to report to the police,” he said on the phone.
He said the bodies were taken to Kitui Level 5 Hospital morgue as investigations got underway.
The discovery of the bodies in the Mutendea rivers comes barely 11 days after four people from Matinyani drowned in Mutindi river, Matinyani, as their pick-up truck attempted to cross the flooded river.
The four – Robinson Muinde, John Mating’e, Nicholas Mating’e and Mwendwa Kithanze – were laid to rest last Saturday.
The funeral service at Kwa Mukoma playground was attended by Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu and Senator Enoch Wambua.
