Tragedy struck a
family in Kakamega after three people drowned in a dam while harvesting sand in Shianda
area.
The victims include
a mother, her 15-year-old daughter, and a relative who tried to rescue them.
According to the
police, the incident happened on Tuesday at about 2 pm in Lusheya Sublocation.
It was established that a woman identified as Emily Mutuba, 40, with her 15-year-old daughter, had ventured into the banks of a dam to harvest
sand.
While at the scene,
the grade seven pupil at Shibinga Primary School slid and drowned in the dam,
Western regional police commander Issa Mohamud said.
The mother jumped
therein while screaming for help in an effort to rescue her.
According to police,
their relative, Michael Ombango, 47, joined and jumped into the water.
They all drowned
because they did not know how to swim, police said.
The bodies were
later retrieved and taken to a local mortuary pending autopsy and other
investigations.
Authorities later
visited the scene and announced a ban on harvesting of the sand.
Meanwhile, two
suspects were arrested in connection with the drowning of a fisherman in the
deep sea at the Indian Ocean.
Witnesses told
police the victim identified as Ali Rashid was hit by a piece of mangrove and
slid into the deep sea in an argument with fellow fishermen in Takaungu area.
Other fishermen
turned violent following the incident and burnt two boats, police said.
Police rushed to the
scene to calm the situation as the group demanded action on the suspects.
The victim was not
immediately retrieved from the waters and rescue teams went to the scene on
Wednesday morning.
Police said they are
investigating the saga amid tension in the area.
And a suspect was
lynched while four others were rescued by police in an incident in Bahati,
Nakuru County.
The suspects were
accused of being mobile phone snatchers.
The body was moved
to the mortuary while the injured were taken to the local hospital amid
investigations.
Cases of mob lynching have been on the rise amid calls on the public to surrender suspects to authorities for processing.
