Three employees of the Mombasa County government on Friday November 24 drowned while unclogging a manhole at the Makupa roundabout.
Other four escaped death after managing to move out of the drainage system.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir who spoke at scene said the three drowned while trying to clear the debris from the smaller drainage but unfortunately there was an influx of water.
“We were able to get four people out and alive but there are still three people that we are hoping we will be able to remove them, however, there is one more person who is currently down there. There is no other way to get there except a person has to go down,” he stated.
The governor blamed the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) for a shoddy job which had rendered the road impassable.Â
“The engineers came and looked at what was the cause of the problem and they found out that when KeNHA was doing the road, they basically built a drainage system on top of another existing drainage system,” he said.
Following the loss of lives and devastating effects of El Nino, President William Ruto vowed to mobilize resources to avert further crisis.Â
“We condole with the families of the victims of the ongoing intense downpour and flooding in some parts of the country. We are pained by the loss of lives in Kwale, Mombasa, Samburu and, lately, Makueni County among other places. The Government will act to secure Kenyans, ” The Head of State announced.
