Annual church youth camp turns tragic as KCPE champion, girl die in Migori

Edick Otieno Juma, 14The teenager who died at the SDA church camp meeting in Migori. The boy sat for his KCPE at Muhoroni Success Primary school and got 386 marks. He drowned while bathing at River Migori. (PHOTO: MAURINE ODIWUOR/ STANDARD)

Tragedy struck a Seventh Day Adventist Church youth camp in Migori after two teenagers—one of whom had just scored 386 marks in national exams—died.

One of the youths, Edick Otieno Juma  (pictured), slipped and drowned after taking a bath at the nearby Migori river. The other, a girl who could not be identified immediately, died of pneumonia as she slept in a tent in the water-logged camping site at the Migori Airstrip.

The camporee, which police said brought together more than 1,000 young church faithful, was in mourning yesterday following the double tragedy.

While the girl’s body was moved to the Akidiva mortuary in Migori, Edick’s body had not been  recovered from the swollen Migori river.

Sources said the girl developed breathing problems as she slept in a tent. “She was asthmatic and got pneumonia. Her condition deteriorated and we could not get medical help immediately. She died as we watched,” said one of her friends.

Edick, popularly known as Cardinal among his peers, was in high spirits after he scored 386 marks in this year’s Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) at Muhoroni Success Primary School.

His grieving mother Carolyn Juma, a widow, recalled how Edick pleaded with her to allow him attend to the camporee.  She was reluctant but gave in to his sustained pleading.

“He was in very high spirits but little did I know that that was the last time that I would see him alive,” Juma told The Standard on Saturday.

Police said Edick drowned at around 3pm on Thursday. The boy and his colleagues had taken a bath and were basking in the sun when he slipped and fell into the river. A brave friend who tried to rescue him was yesterday still in shock and unable to speak coherently.

“Where is Cardinal? He slipped from my hand. I want to see him,” was all he could say whenever someone spoke to him.

“When he wanted to leave, he slipped and fell. One of his friends tried to grab him from the water, and he too almost drowned. The third boy then held both of them but could only save one,” said Edick’s mother.

She said Edick loved the church and was an active member of the youth club. The SDA church organises yearly camp meetings for the youth, who have to live under tough conditions to help prepare them for future challenges. The camporee started on December 1 and was due to end tomorrow.