'I was worried all day...' mom speaks after death of two daughters

Piece by: KNA  by Preston Rukwaro/ Muoki Charles
Crime
Sad, tears
Sad, tears

A family in Maguguni, Thika East Sub-county is distraught after their two children drowned while swimming in River Athi, on Sunday.

The girls, aged 11 and 12 years succumbed to high-water levels and their bodies were retrieved yesterday evening.

Thika East Sub-county Police Commander, Namutai Kutima, said the girls, Wanjiku Mbugua and Hilda Wanjiru had gone swimming in the company of their cousin and friends but were swept away by the swollen waters.

He said they received distress calls from their parents after they failed to return home that evening, adding that his team of officers and members of the public mounted a search and managed to retrieve their bodies, yesterday.

“The bodies were retrieved at two different points and had no injuries,” he said.

According to Lilian Njeri, the girls’ mother, she left Church at around 2 pm but when she arrived home, she didn’t find her daughters.

She said she was worried all day while in church and had to leave early.

“On arrival, their father told me that they left in the company of their cousin and friends. I was worried and at around 6 pm, I called their grandmother who informed me that their clothes had been found on the banks of the river. I knew things weren’t right,” she said.

 Their bodies were removed to General Kago Mortuary. This is not the first time children have drowned while swimming in the river.

"There was another incident where secondary students went swimming in the river but drowned shortly after," one of the locals remembered.

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