There was joy and sorrow in Abimbo in Bondo after the body of Tom Okwach, 25, who was buried alive at a goldmine was retrieved.
Okwach's body was buried in the collapsed goldmine for more than seven months.
The deceased’s uncle Fredrick Ogunde confirmed that Okwach’s remains were retrieved on Sunday following the spirited effort of 15 artisanal miners.
Okwach and nine other artisans were buried alive on December 2, 2021 when the shaft caved in trapping them several feet underneath.
Eight were rescued from the goldmine alive. Okwach is the second person who never made it alive.
Okwach’s brother, Steve Aliwa, in part expressed his joy that his brother's body had been found and sorrow on another for the remains that had been retrieved.
It was the same mixed feeling for Okwach’s mother Joyce Aluoch.
