A man suffocated and died as he and others emptied water
from an underground tank using a generator in Kipkelion, Kericho County.
The victim was among three people who had been hired to help
in emptying the water to enable the owner to wash the tank when the incident
happened in the Barsiele area on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.
Police said Nicholas Ngeno, 29, suffocated in the tank while
two others were rescued.
The three had gone into the tank with a generator to enable
them to pump out the water.
As their mission went on with the generator running, the
owner of the tank realized the men were unconscious and raised an alarm.
They had inhaled carbon monoxide emitted from the generator,
which was killing them slowly through suffocation.
Locals responded to the scene and managed to rescue two of
the men alive, while Ngeno was found to have suffocated and died.
The body was moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy,
police said.
Police said he died of suffocation.
Carbon monoxide is regarded as a silent killer. A running
generator emits carbon monoxide, which is deadly.
Carbon monoxide poisoning is more likely to occur when one
is in a closed place.
Carbon monoxide poisoning, always referred to as ‘the silent
killer,’ happens when the toxic, odourless gases emitted from burning wood or
charcoal mix with blood and affect oxygen circulation in the body.
When one breathes in carbon monoxide, it enters the blood
and mixes with the red blood cells’ haemoglobin to form poisonous
carboxyhemoglobin, which prevents the blood from transporting oxygen.
Officials advise against the use of generators in closed
places or areas with poor ventilation.
Burning jikos also emit carbon monoxide, which is deadly as
well.
Meanwhile, the body of an unidentified man was found on the
Chuka-Meru Highway after his murder, police said of the October 8, 2025
incident.
The motive of the murder was not immediately known.
Police said the body had deep cuts on the left side of the
head, and both hands had injuries. His left thumb had been severed and was
missing, police at the scene said.
A blood-stained panga believed to have been the murder
weapon was found at the scene, police said.
The body was moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy and
further investigations.
Meanwhile, police in Isinya, Kajiado County, are
investigating an incident where a man was abducted moments after he had been
freed by a court.
The victim had been in custody over claims of rape in the
area and was freed for lack of evidence.
Locals said the man was in a local club when he was
confronted by two armed men who arrived on a motorcycle and forced him out.
The men claimed there was no justice in the rape case before
taking him away.
Police said they are investigating the incident. Cases of
defilement and rape are on the rise in the area amid a campaign to address the
menace.
