The body of a Technical University of Mombasa student who went missing was found on Wednesday in the Indian Ocean near Nyali.
Timothy Mwirigi reportedly disappeared on Saturday at around 8pm. He was in his second semester of the Civil Engineering course. On Tuesday, his classmates reported his disappearance, prompting a search in areas he had visited.
“In case you come across this Technical University of Mombasa student, contact the number... he has been lost for days,” a poster in social media groups read.
On Thursday, vice chancellor Laila Abubakar said the student drowned while swimming with friends. “His body was found on the beach but we are awaiting postmortem results to determine the actual cause of death,” she said.
Cases of university students drowning on the beach are not new. Another first-year student was found dead on Junda Beach after going missing for days last October.
Caleb Kiplangat was two months into his Mechanical Engineering course at the university. Fellow students and police launched a search for him after he failed to turn up for lectures for two days.
“We normally keep advising the students not to venture into the ocean during the orientation. But they tend to go and explore despite warnings,” Abubakar said.
“Every time we advise new students against the risks of the town, but they get tempted."
The number of beachgoers drowning in the ocean has been on the rise. Last year during Christmas festivities, three people drowned at the Jomo Kenyatta International Beach popularly known as Pirates in unclear circumstances.
The deaths were reported despite the presence of safety and rescue personnel on standby at the beach.
Edited by R.Wamochie
