- Joseph Orenge Onyancha died after drowning at Nyakwana Waterfall after allegedly being sent home over unpaid school fees.
- Police and disaster management teams from Kisii and Bomet counties conducted an overnight search and retrieved his body from River Nyakwana the following morning.
The body of Joseph Orenge Onyancha, a student at Riokindo National School, was laid to rest on Thursday at his family’s home in Magenche Ward, Kenyenya Sub-County.
According to reports, the 19-year-old had allegedly been sent home over unpaid fees. Instead of proceeding home immediately, he was staying at a friend’s home when he went swimming with others at Nyakwana Waterfall in Nyaribari Chache.
Witnesses said he had gone swimming with three classmates in the Rianyakwana area. His first dive went without incident, but on the second dive he sank and did not resurface.
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Friends alerted nearby villagers, who began combing the riverbanks overnight. The search operation stretched through the night, with police drawn from several stations across Kisii County joining the effort.
Divers from the Kisii County disaster management team, with assistance from Bomet County, retrieved his body from the fast-flowing River Nyakwana the following morning, Thursday, September 3, as community members watched in grief.
The burial was attended by scores of fellow students, teachers and members of the school administration.
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The tragedy has left many questions unanswered about safety measures in learning institutions, strategies to keep students at school instead of sending them home to look for fees, communication between parents and teachers, and coordination among teachers on duty, class teachers and boarding masters. Stakeholders have further raised the question of whether there is a need for retraining teachers on school monitoring and safety, noting that student monitoring and care in learning institutions should evolve with the times.
The family is mourning as investigations continue.
By Enock Okong’o
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