Mother Of Lake Baringo Boat Tragedy Survivor Fears Losing 3 Children: "First-born Aliokolewa"

• The ill-fated boat capsized after an abandoned fishing net became tangled in its propeller, leading to the accident
• The 23 children were headed to the Kokwa area for a religious training programme at the Revival Church on the other side of the lake
• Jane Gikenyi camped at Lake Baringo shores hopeful to see her two children rescued after one died because of the tragedy

Nancy Odindo, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics, news, and feature stories across digital and print media in Kenya.

Baringo - Tragedy struck on Sunday, April 21, when a motorboat carrying 23 children capsized in the flooded Lake Baringo.

The children were to participate in a religious training programme at the Revival Church in the Kokwa area when the accident occurred.

Baringo county deputy governor Felix Maiyo reported that 17 of the children were rescued, but sadly, one lost their life in the incident.

Six others are yet to be retrieved from the crocodile-infested lake.

Jane Gikenyi loses 3 children in boat accident

Jane Gikenyi, the grieving mother of the deceased girl, spent the day at the lake's shore, hoping to see her other two children.

She painfully recounted how her eldest son and daughter were among the survivors, rescued by another boat when theirs capsized, but her daughter did not survive.

Despite her diminishing hope of their survival, Jane prayed for the safe rescue of her remaining two children, according to NTV.

"I have four children. They all left me to attend the programme. When the accident happened, my firstborn son and one daughter were rescued but the sister died later.

The boy is 16, he survived. My second born is 14, she died. I also lost the lastborn who is Grade Four. The thirdborn is also missing," she lamented.

Why did the boat capsize in Lake Baringo?

Investigations revealed that an abandoned fishing net had become tangled in the boat's propeller, leading to the tragedy.

Maiyo also disclosed that the waters were unclear coupled with the strong waves which the boat could not overcome.

The search for the missing teenagers, now in its third day, involves a multi-agency effort including the Coast Guard Marine, Red Cross Kenya, and local divers.

Despite their exhaustive efforts, there has been no success in locating the missing children.

Student dies while swimming in school

Meanwhile, a first-year student at the South Eastern Kenya University died while swimming with his two friends within the university premises.

The three students were captured having fun as they swam in the flooded river, and another student encouraged them to swim towards the river bank.

Local divers retrieved his body following the drowning incident.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.