Drama unfolded on Wednesday in Bahati, Nakuru County after a primary school pupil died at a farm belonging to former President Mwai Kibaki.
8-year old Richard Gakuru reportedly drowned in a private dam at Gingalili farm where he had gone to look for indigenous vegetables locally known as managu on Tuesday afternoon.
However, the boy, who was reportedly accompanied by his colleagues, took long to return home prompting his scared parents and neighbours to launch a search. Shockingly, they found his clothes next to the dam.
Residents led by the area MCA Nderitu Mwangi, who is a former Kenya Navy Officer, volunteered to swim across the dam in a frantic search for the boy.
According to Mr Mwangi, the 6-hour search mission failed to bear fruit since it “had been complicated by siltation of the dam and water density.”
A team of rescue officers from the Nakuru County Government arrived at the scene but failed to retrieve the body due to lack of equipment.
Kiamaina ward MCA Mr Samuel Kamau expressed that the rescuers could only be able to retrieve the body after three days when it’s likely to float.
On Wednesday, angry locals barricaded the busy Nakuru-Nyahururu road to protest the county’s failure to help in retrieving the boy’s body.
The residents accused the County Government of always being slow to respond to respond to distress calls.