Meria
Elder Lister
When Lilian Kimote received a call from Bernard Opondo’s wife inviting her and her family for Christmas, she was excited she could finally take two of her three children out to celebrate.
It was Christmas eve and her children, Fadhili Rama and Khadija Rama, had been constantly nagging her to tell them where they would go to celebrate Christmas like other children.
The next day, on Christmas, Kimote and her two children woke up early, prepared themselves and made the short journey from Mtwapa to Mtopanga, where they would be hosted by the Opondos.
Zainab Rama, the first born, had to stay home and look after the house.
Little did they know it would be the last journey alive for Fadhili, who was the last born, barely two years old.
“We had breakfast and lunch well. We were inside the house while the children played outside. Suddenly, we had shouts from outside. ‘The child! The child! He has dropped into the hole!” Kimote said.
When they rushed out to see what was happening, she did not realise it was her own Fadhili that had dropped into an unfinished borehole that was being drilled by a neighbour next to Opondo’s house.
Kimote and her children did not know of the existence of the borehole, which was at least 40 feet deep.
It had been covered by a piece of rugged and disused plastic carpet.
The borehole, whose diameter was slightly above the size of an electric pole, was being drilled by a neighbour, who wanted to have constant water for his tenants.
DEADLY HOLE: The borehole into which two-year-old Fadhili Rama fell on Christmas.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
However, residents faulted the location of the borehole, saying the neighbour was drilling it behind his house to avoid the attention of the county inspectorate officers.
“He was doing it secretly because he did not want to pay the necessary fees,” an angry neighbour said.
The residents also faulted authorities for slow response.
By the time of going to press, the body was yet to be recovered, three days later, with the government showing little effort.
Opondo said he tried reaching out to the child but in vain.
“The borehole was too small for me to go in. The child was slim and he could fit into the hole. He could be heard crying out to his mother,” Opondo told the Star on Monday evening.
The neighbours said Mombasa county fire brigade arrived at the scene about two hours later but could not do anything.
“I feel bad because these were my guests who had come to celebrate Christmas with us. We are going into the third day and the body of the child is still in there,” Opondo said.
Neighbours had quickly arranged to try and have the borehole expanded so as to try reach the child.
All the efforts, that took over 12 hours throughout the night into the morning of Boxing Day, were in vain.
Recovery efforts had to be stopped when the rains started pounding on Sunday morning, part of the wall of the expanded hole caved in.
TRAGIC: The caved in hole where two-year-old boy fell to his death on Christmas.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
Police arrived at the scene on Sunday mid-morning and stopped all amateur rescue efforts by the neighbours much to the chagrin of the community.
However, police said it was risky for the neighbours to continue with their efforts and said they would contact experts from the Kenya Defence Forces who have specialised expertise and equipment.
Mtopanga Phase 1 village elder Duncan Onyango said the neighbours feel cheated by the government who stopped all rescue efforts then did nothing to salvage the situation.
“The government stopped neighbours from digging up the borehole to try and recover the body yet they do nothing. That is illogical,” Onyango said.
He said neighbours are on their necks as government representatives on the ground.
“The government should have given proper direction and explained to the neighbours what exactly they are doing instead of keeping mum. They are frustrated and they pour out their frustrations on us,” Onyango said.
Chief Samuel Baya told the Star the blame falls squarely on the owner of the borehole.
“First he did not consult us when drilling the borehole because we would have stopped it even before it started. The location of the borehole is not proper to begin with,” Baya said.
He said the borehole was being drilled next to a septic tank meaning the likelihood of the water mixing with sewage from the septic tank was high.
Baya said the area around the borehole should have also been demarcated so that people know there is a borehole being sunk.
“It was left dangerously open. Covering it with a piece of plastic carpet was even more dangerous than leaving it open because had it been left open, it would have been seen,” Baya said.
Nyali subcounty police commander Daniel Masaba said he would contact the KDF and other experts to have the body of the child recovered.
The owner of the borehole had committed willing neighbours to dig up the hole and have Fadhili's body recovered.
However, he has since gone missing and does not stay in the neighbourhood.
Police say they are looking for him to answer some questions.
Kimote has since been staying with the Opondos waiting for her son’s body to be recovered so she can bury it.
“My son was a bright child. He was sharp and active. He was going to help me and his siblings in future. I have lost my hope,” she said.
cc: @wrongturn
It was Christmas eve and her children, Fadhili Rama and Khadija Rama, had been constantly nagging her to tell them where they would go to celebrate Christmas like other children.
The next day, on Christmas, Kimote and her two children woke up early, prepared themselves and made the short journey from Mtwapa to Mtopanga, where they would be hosted by the Opondos.
Zainab Rama, the first born, had to stay home and look after the house.
Little did they know it would be the last journey alive for Fadhili, who was the last born, barely two years old.
“We had breakfast and lunch well. We were inside the house while the children played outside. Suddenly, we had shouts from outside. ‘The child! The child! He has dropped into the hole!” Kimote said.
When they rushed out to see what was happening, she did not realise it was her own Fadhili that had dropped into an unfinished borehole that was being drilled by a neighbour next to Opondo’s house.
Kimote and her children did not know of the existence of the borehole, which was at least 40 feet deep.
It had been covered by a piece of rugged and disused plastic carpet.
The borehole, whose diameter was slightly above the size of an electric pole, was being drilled by a neighbour, who wanted to have constant water for his tenants.
DEADLY HOLE: The borehole into which two-year-old Fadhili Rama fell on Christmas.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
However, residents faulted the location of the borehole, saying the neighbour was drilling it behind his house to avoid the attention of the county inspectorate officers.
“He was doing it secretly because he did not want to pay the necessary fees,” an angry neighbour said.
The residents also faulted authorities for slow response.
By the time of going to press, the body was yet to be recovered, three days later, with the government showing little effort.
Opondo said he tried reaching out to the child but in vain.
“The borehole was too small for me to go in. The child was slim and he could fit into the hole. He could be heard crying out to his mother,” Opondo told the Star on Monday evening.
The neighbours said Mombasa county fire brigade arrived at the scene about two hours later but could not do anything.
“I feel bad because these were my guests who had come to celebrate Christmas with us. We are going into the third day and the body of the child is still in there,” Opondo said.
Neighbours had quickly arranged to try and have the borehole expanded so as to try reach the child.
All the efforts, that took over 12 hours throughout the night into the morning of Boxing Day, were in vain.
Recovery efforts had to be stopped when the rains started pounding on Sunday morning, part of the wall of the expanded hole caved in.
TRAGIC: The caved in hole where two-year-old boy fell to his death on Christmas.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
Police arrived at the scene on Sunday mid-morning and stopped all amateur rescue efforts by the neighbours much to the chagrin of the community.
However, police said it was risky for the neighbours to continue with their efforts and said they would contact experts from the Kenya Defence Forces who have specialised expertise and equipment.
Mtopanga Phase 1 village elder Duncan Onyango said the neighbours feel cheated by the government who stopped all rescue efforts then did nothing to salvage the situation.
“The government stopped neighbours from digging up the borehole to try and recover the body yet they do nothing. That is illogical,” Onyango said.
He said neighbours are on their necks as government representatives on the ground.
“The government should have given proper direction and explained to the neighbours what exactly they are doing instead of keeping mum. They are frustrated and they pour out their frustrations on us,” Onyango said.
Chief Samuel Baya told the Star the blame falls squarely on the owner of the borehole.
“First he did not consult us when drilling the borehole because we would have stopped it even before it started. The location of the borehole is not proper to begin with,” Baya said.
He said the borehole was being drilled next to a septic tank meaning the likelihood of the water mixing with sewage from the septic tank was high.
Baya said the area around the borehole should have also been demarcated so that people know there is a borehole being sunk.
“It was left dangerously open. Covering it with a piece of plastic carpet was even more dangerous than leaving it open because had it been left open, it would have been seen,” Baya said.
Nyali subcounty police commander Daniel Masaba said he would contact the KDF and other experts to have the body of the child recovered.
The owner of the borehole had committed willing neighbours to dig up the hole and have Fadhili's body recovered.
However, he has since gone missing and does not stay in the neighbourhood.
Police say they are looking for him to answer some questions.
Kimote has since been staying with the Opondos waiting for her son’s body to be recovered so she can bury it.
“My son was a bright child. He was sharp and active. He was going to help me and his siblings in future. I have lost my hope,” she said.
cc: @wrongturn
