Ailing Granny Narrates Horror Of Losing 7 Family Members To Mathare Floods: "Mwili Inatetemeka"

• Salome Anyango had travelled to Mathare from her rural area in pursuit of medical attention before the tragic incident
• She stated that on that day, she witnessed the death of her family members, but she managed to escape
• Anyango's son stated that burial arrangements are ongoing and that they managed to receive support from Nairobi County government

A sickly grandmother has narrated how she lost seven members of her family to floods that wreaked havoc in Mathare.

Why was the granny in Mathare?

Salome Anyango stated that she had travelled from her rural area to her child's home in Mathare, Nairobi county, to pursue treatment.

Speaking to Nation, Anyango stated that she had spent at least three nights in the area before tragedy struck.

" My children told me to come to Nairobi to seek treatment because I am sick. My body is shivering. My body temperature is high," she narrated.

Anyango stated that the tragedy struck on Tuesday, April 23 after a heavy downpour.

She narrated that her child's home was made of iron sheets. Her son asked her to move to the bedroom upon seeing water flooding the sitting room.

In the bedroom, her son's wife sat on one bed with four kids and she sat on the other bed with other people. She added that when they moved to the room, water still kept flowing in.

"Water reached the bed, then the mattress. One of my grandchildren had water reaching her waist, and when I told her to sit on the table that was placed on the bed, she started screaming for help," she said.

While sitting next to her son and daughter, Anyango said that she managed to find a way out of the flooded house, but the other seven family members she was with in the house didn't make it.

How are the burial preparations going?

Anyango's son said that Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja sent seven coffins to be used by the family.

"One NGO offered to pay the mortuary bill and the postmortem procedure. Others will cater for the clothings and vehicles to transport the family members who died," the man said.

He added that the burial preparations are going smoothly.

Two sisters drown in Nakuru

In other news, two sisters drowned in a river on Wednesday, May 8, as they attempted to cross River Ndarugu in Njoro Sub-County in Nakuru.

The sisters, identified as Faith Cheptoo aged 17 years and Sharon Chepng'etich aged 15, are from Nessuit location in Njoro Sub County.

Chepng'etich slipped after stepping on a slippery rock as they looked for safer rocks to cross.

They both drowned after her sister attempted to rescue her when they were overwhelmed by the water.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke