Four died in flood

Four people died in the flooded Nakoyo river in Kakuma zone.

The incident occurred in Kakuma – Lokichoggio road on the 8 December 2015. A Toyota Probox heading to Kakuma four section of the refugee camp forced its way into the flooded river and the vehicle was overtaken by the huge waves of furious El-Niño water when it approached half way across the bridge.

At the time of the incident, there were eight people in the vehicle. Three died and five survived the tragedy. The three who died were identified as refugees from the Somali community. Fatuma Abdi Diblawe, aged 52, a mother of six children, died in the river together with her two younger boys while trying to struggle to get out.

Unfortunately, an unidentified motorist died in the same Nakoyo river while trying to rescue the passengers swept away by the river. One boy went missing but the bodies of those found were laid to rest on 9th December in the camp graveyard. The body of the missing boy was never found until the 14th December and then laid to rest.

Simultaneously, the driver of the Probox vehicle was arrested in connection with the deadly incident and was being held at Kakuma police station over that weekend. The relatives of the victims have accused the driver of causing the misfortune. “The driver deliberately forced his way into the river as both the passengers and road user are shouting to him to stop, we blame him” Jamal Farah a member of the victims’ family told KANERE. The family mourn the loss of their three members and are waiting for justice to be done on the case.

In Kakuma, heavy rains have often flooded the camp, threatening the transport system within the camp for hours or even days. There are no safety regulations and refugees lack awareness about the management of heavy downpour, when they should not dare to cross the rivers during flooding.