51 bodies may never be found, families fear

A motorcycle that was pulled from debris in Mai Mahiu after floods swept the area. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

Some families in Naivasha are despairing about the possibility that the bodies of their kin might never be recovered due to the amount of debris around the flood path.

As the search exercise entered the fourth day, the possibility of never recovering the bodies of their loved ones was slowly sinking in. But they pray and hope that the contrary will happen.

The Interior Ministry, headed by Kindiki Kiture, says some 52 bodies have been recovered since the tragedy happened. The ministry says 51 people are still missing.

As Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) and National Youth Service (NYS) officers joined the search, families affected by the tragedy are helpless as they contemplate their next lives.

Justus Muchiri, who cannot trace his brother and sister-in-law some four days after the incident, says he doesn’t know how to move on.

The brother and his wife were living in a rented house in the area.

Muchiri says he had visited the Ume mortuary where the bodies have been preserved and all health centres in Mai Mahiu and Naivasha without tracing the two. “The couple had been working as casual labourers in Naivasha and since the floods swept their homes, no one seems to know their whereabouts,” he said.

Muchiri opines that the two could have been buried under the tens of tonnes of debris which were washed downstream by the gushing waters.

“Our biggest fear is losing some relatives and never recovering their bodies, and there is that possibility due to the amount of debris,” he said.

John Kuria, a relative to another missing person, said he had travelled from Nyahururu to check on the welfare of his uncle and nephew who lived in Ruiru, a small village in Mai Mahiu, affected by the floods.

He said the uncle’s house was among those swept by the floods and that they had recovered the body of the nephew but that of the uncle was still missing.

“We feel that the body could be buried under one of those huge trunks or even under the tonnes of sand and we cannot bury one body until the other is found,” he said.

One of the youths involved in the search exercise, Byron Georgidious, said the task of recovering the bodies was becoming harder by the day.

He said the majority of the bodies recovered were those found lying on top of the debris or partially stuck in the muddy water.

“Definitely, there are tens of bodies under the tonnes of debris and getting the real location is the biggest challenge though KDF officers are using sniffer dogs,” he said.

Kenya Red Cross South Rift Regional Manager Felix Maiyo said the debris posed a major threat to the search exercise which had been extended to Namcha area, 40 kilometres from the scene of the incident.