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| The late Dorcas Jepkemoi moments before she fell into Chepkiit river |
What began as a normal day for two adventurous lovers ended in tears, agony and despair.
Mr. Benjamin Kazungu and the late Dorcas Jepkemoi had embarked on a tour of Chepkiit Waterfalls, a major tourist attraction site in Nandi. Their journey began from Eldoret, and ended at the Nandi County Government controlled site.
"We travelled from Eldoret, we were not even sure of the exact location of the site, however, we used our phones to locate it. We had no money on MPESA and Dorcas had to call her sister so that we could get the money to pay for the entry fee." Said Mr. Kazungu.
Video: Chepkiit falls, the rains have flooded the river. Efforts to retrieve body underway.
Once they were in, they did a tour of the place without any incidents. However, as they were on their way out, the lady identified the spot she wanted her photos taken from.
She requested Mr. Kazungu to take pictures of her. Kazungu, though hesitant, took photos of her and managed to take a number before tragedy struck.
ALSO READ: Tragedy as woman slips and drowns at Chepkiit, Nandi County
She slid, fell into the raging waters and was swept away!
"I took photos of her, as I was turning away to leave, that's when tragedy struck, she slid and fell into the water." Mr. Kazungu recounted.
According to Victor, the late Jepkemoi's brother who spoke to Nandi News on phone, the rescue efforts have been a nightmare for the family.
The family has been forced to camp at the site from Sunday when the incident occured. Each day, the family has had to hire a vehicle to ferry members from Kapsaos which is about 100Kms away from the tragic site.
"We have had to camp at the site from Sunday. We can't sleep around the place, we have to go back to our home which is about 100kms from the place, the cost has already overburdened us." Said Mr. Victor.
This has incurred tremendous costs to the family which has been left to fight to locate the body of their late kin.
The family feels that the County and National government has neglected them. They are wondering why not much effort has been put up to ensure that the body is retrieved.
"When such an incident occured in Mombasa, we saw the entire government camp there, five days down the line, the government is yet to send any professional diver to assist in the search." Said one of the residents.
"It is the prerogative of the county government of Nandi to secure this place. They receive payments in form of entry fees from tourists. How comes, when we need them the most, they have left us on our own?" Asked Victor, the late Jepkemoi's brother.
The local divers that have been deployed through the effort of the family lack the basic equipment required for such an assignment.
"It was only today, (friday) that the county provided a rope to help in the retrieval efforts." Said Mr. Victor.
Since Sunday, the county government only showed up on Wednesday, four days after the incident had occured.
Divers from Cheploch gorge were brought in to help in the search of the missing body. However, due to the state of the river, they could not do much due to inadequate equipment.
SEEKING HELP
The family is calling on the National and County government to deploy professional divers to help in the search efforts. They are also appealing to wellwishers to support them in the retrieval efforts.
They are also appealing to the county commissioner to ensure that adequate security is deployed to the area so as to contain the surging numbers of onlookers.
CLOSURE OF THE SITE
Residents have also called for the immediate closure of the site until proper security measures can be put in place to protect the lives of tourists.
It has also been suggested that tourists visiting the place be accompanied by a ranger to mitigate any future mishaps.
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