Photo: Courtesy
In a heart-wrenching twist of fate, Gregory Murithi, a reporter for Royal Media Services, experienced a devastating personal loss while on duty.
Murithi was assigned to cover an incident at Rwanyange Primary and Junior Secondary School, only to tragically discover that the victim was his nephew.
The Incident
Murithi received an urgent call from his brother regarding a tragic accident at a nearby school.
“At Rwanyange Primary and Junior Secondary School, there is a big concrete tank that accommodates 2 million liters of water,” Murithi recounted. “Yesterday, my brother, while at a nearby market near the school, heard there was a child who had fallen in the water tank and called me.”
“Bro, I heard a child has fallen into the water tank here at Rwanyange. Come quickly to cover the news. I’ll tell you more when you get here,” Murithi’s brother urged him.
Just minutes later, the situation took a horrifying turn. Murithi’s brother called again, his voice trembling with emotion.
“Bro, I see Tiffa’s clothes and glasses at the bottom of the tank,” he said, breathing heavily before abruptly hanging up.
Unsafe practices lead to tragedy
The 2-million-litre water tank at the school had been neglected for some time, with its outlet, used by students to fetch water, malfunctioning.
Instead of repairing the issue, the school administration opted to have pupils enter the tank through a small opening to manually fetch water.
According to witnesses, Murithi’s nephew, Evans, was assigned the task of fetching water. Tragically, he slipped and fell into the tank, leading to his untimely death. Despite fellow students’ desperate cries for help, their calls went unanswered for critical minutes.
“The school failed to assist my brother’s son, and he drowned to his painful death,” Murithi lamented. The fire and rescue team was only summoned an hour later to retrieve Evans’ body.
Gregory Murithi is now struggling with the profound loss of his nephew, a boy full of life and potential.
“You left home yesterday morning so happy and jovial as
