The body of a 36-year-old man has been retrieved from River Syulunguni in Machakos county.
The man identified by residents and family members as Muia Muasya, was reportedly swept away by the water while he attempted to cross the river after a heavy downpour on Tuesday night.
Residents conducted a search for Muia after he went missing before alerting officers from Kathiani police station who later discovered his body in the river.
They helped retrieve the body on Wednesday.
David Muasya, the deceased's father, said he was shocked by the untimely demise of this sixth born child.
“I am shocked with the report of my son’s death. I received information on the incident at around 12.00am last midnight,” Muasya told reporters along the river on Wednesday.
The body, according to eye witnesses, was discovered two kilometres from where Muasya had drowned.
“My son does menial and garden jobs in the village. He is not married though he is a responsible and disciplined young man,” Muasya added.
Village Christopher Kioko said he was informed of the incident at 10:00pm on Tuesday.
“I was told there were people who had drowned in the river. We launched a search on them until today 3:00am when we found a body of the man who had been swept away by the waters,” Kioko said.
Police removed the body to Kangundo Level 4 hospital mortuary awaiting a postmortem.
Police have launched investigations into the incident.
There was heavy downpour in most parts of Machakos county on Tuesday that lasted until late in the night.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
