Jubilation in Nderiti village as boda boda rider rescues 3-year-old who fell inside a well

Mzee Lucas Wanjohi, a resident, said the child had been playing with his daughter in his compound before he went missing. The boy is believed to have set off in search of his mother, who was picking tea at a neighbour’s farm.

“The well had been covered with wooden planks, but unfortunately they had rotted,” Wanjohi said.

The toddler wandered off and fell into the deep well.

Villagers raised the alarm after hearing the child crying from inside. His mother, Esther Nyarua, was immediately informed and rushed from the tea farm with other workers, calling for help.

Wanjohi said he had considered entering the well himself, as no other men were nearby at the time.

“I had decided to go down into the well because there was no man around and the women were crying for help, before boda boda rider Gakuru Muriuki arrived,” he said.

Villagers tied a rope around Muriuki as he descended into the well, hoping he would rescue the child alive.

The boy had been in the well for more than 30 minutes. There was jubilation when Muriuki emerged carrying the child, alive.

Nyarua, overwhelmed with shock, struggled to believe her son had survived. She and the villagers rushed him to hospital for medical examination.

Recounting the rescue, Muriuki said: “When I got into the well, it was very dark, but I managed to locate him, pick him up carefully and come out with him. There was no water inside—only wet soil—but I was able to bring the little boy out safely.”