- A Form Four student at Riokindo Boys High School has gone missing after reportedly being swept away while swimming in River Nyakwana, with search efforts ongoing since Wednesday.
- Police led by County Commander Ronald Kirui have joined villagers in an overnight search, though no trace of the student has been found.
- Parents have appealed to school principals to stop sending students home over unpaid fees, citing risks including substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, crime and dropout
A Form Four student at Riokindo Boys High School in Kisii County is feared dead after being swept away while swimming in River Nyakwana, sparking an overnight search that continued into Thursday morning.
According to the student’s friends, he had been sent home from school over unpaid fees and, unable to travel to his family home in Nairobi to collect the money, had taken shelter at a colleague’s home in Nyabisabo Village, Nyaribari Chache Constituency. While staying there, he joined friends for a swim at River Nyakwana on Wednesday, where he was reportedly swept away by the fast-flowing waterfall, having little swimming experience.
His friends alerted villagers, who launched a search along the riverbanks overnight. By Thursday morning, no trace of the student, reported to be a 19-year-old KCSE candidate, had been found. Police from stations across the county, led by Kisii County Police Commander Ronald Kirui, are coordinating the ongoing search.
Speaking to Education News, several parents appealed to school principals against sending students home over unpaid fees, urging them instead to engage parents directly to resolve financial challenges. They said students sent out of school face a range of risks, including exposure to drug and alcohol abuse, early sexual activity leading to teenage pregnancies and early marriages, recruitment into crime, road accidents while loitering, and, in some cases, complete dropout from school due to shame and hopelessness. The parents called on the Ministry of Education to enforce guidelines protecting learners from being sent home over fee arrears.
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They expressed hope that the missing student might still be found alive, noting that river levels have been subsiding following a dry spell over the past two weeks.
By Enock Okong’o
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