It is exactly 6 months and about 2 week since the Abimbo goldmine in Bondo, Siaya county caved in burying several miners alive.
6 of those who were buried were rescued alive, one died and Tom Okwach, who seemed to be the unlucky one, was never retrieved from the debris.
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months but rescuers have never managed to reach Okwach’s body
Life in the area has since gone back to normal, with miners returning to the goldmine for mining activities according to a report by The Daily Nation but Okwach’s family is still hoping that their kin’s body, even just a piece of him, would be retrieved so that he can be given a decent burial.
All the family members who spent time at the mine as the rescue mission went have since gone back home with only Okwach’s brother Steve Aliwa remaining behind to monitor operations.
According to Aliwa, they have spent all they had and the rescue mission has caused them to sink into poverty and debts that they don’t know how they will clear.
“It is a nightmare that I wish to wake up from. People have given up on this course; family members and friends are saying we should now let it go, but how will I leave my brother in the mines when I know he is there? What will I tell his children?” he said.
15 miners are still volunteering to get Okwach out but what is weighing them down is lack of funds to buy fuel for pumping water out of the shafts. In a day, they require about 20 liters of petrol and 20 liters of diesel. They can not hire an excavator due to lack of funds.
It is hoped that if the team works for two weeks continuously, Okwach’s remains will be retrieved.
The deceased, 29, is survived by his wife Jacklin and two children who are in primary school.
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