Tragedy Strikes Kiandai: Two Young Boys Drown in Neglected Dam
A heavy cloud of grief blankets Kiandai Village in Mwerua Location, Ndia, Kirinyaga County, following the drowning of two schoolboys in a local dam on Thursday evening.
Victor Mwangi, 15, a Grade 7 pupil, and Ryan Njoroge, 10, a Grade 4 learner at Kiandangae Primary School, lost their lives while swimming and fishing with friends at the unguarded water body.
Harrowing Incident Details
Mwerua Location Chief John Mwai reported that the boys joined about 10 children at the dam, located roughly two kilometers from their homes.
Eyewitnesses Lilian Wambui and Mercy Kinyua, route to a women’s group meeting, encountered the group and urged them to return home safely.
“We told them to go back home. Later, when we returned, we were shocked to find local divers searching the dam only to be informed they were looking for the same boys we had told to go home,” Wambui said.
Mercy, Ryan’s Grade 4 teacher, broke down clutching his shoes, recalling a recent conversation with the boy just before he headed to the site.
“I have already informed his mother who is outside the country, she works in Qatar,” said Ryan’s aunt, Faith Murimi, who was at the scene.
Urgent Calls for Dam Safety Measures
Residents blame the decade-old dam, dug during murram extraction by the former county government, for lacking proper security after initial fencing was vandalized and wires stolen for scrap.
The community demands immediate fencing and warnings to prevent future accidents, especially with children frequenting the area for recreation.
Chief Mwai leads ongoing search operations alongside Baricho Police Station officers to recover the bodies.
“We are studying the dam and predicting potential locations of the bodies with the help of divers,” Chief Mwai said.