Kitengela family in mourning as daughter, 5, falls into uncovered manhole and dies

The girl was playing with her friends in Kyang’ombe area on Thursday evening when the incident happened.

Residents expressed anger at the lack of maintenance of facilities, questioning why the manhole had been left open for a while and led to the death of the girl.

“The owner of the plot should have ensured his plot is well maintained. The child would be alive had the concerned persons taken precaution and sealed the manhole,” one local, who sought anonymity for fear of victimization, said.

He went on, “County officials are also to blame because they are supposed to inspect buildings to ensure they are habitable.”

The child’s body was taken to Shalom Hospital mortuary.

Kajiado East subcounty administrator Bruce Likama regretted the incident and said officers have launched a drive to inspect buildings to ensure they adhere to safety standards. 

“We will be looking at things such as roofing, water pipes. waste on the road, failure to seal pipes and so on and take action against those flouting rules,” he said.