Probe after 3-year-old drowns in Mombasa school swimming pool

A family in Mvita, Mombasa County, is demanding justice following the drowning of their three-year-old son at a swimming pool at Mvita Comprehensive School on Friday evening.

The family says the child drowned about an hour after they arrived at the facility, blaming the tragedy on the absence of adequate safety measures, including a professional lifeguard.

According to the family, they arrived at the swimming pool at around 4 p.m. to relax after the end of the school term. About an hour later, the three-year-old, identified as Abdinasir Abahaji, drowned.

The family alleges that the facility lacked warning signs, safety demarcations and clear indications of the pool's depth.

"The place ukiangalia there is no demarcation, ukiangalia no signs, pale ni deep sana, mahali ya kuonyesha mahali watoto wanaingilia. Ukiangalia the place ni mahali ambako iko danger," said family spokesperson Abdulrahman Yusuf.

Detectives have launched investigations to establish the circumstances surrounding the child's death as the family calls for transparency and accountability.

Mombasa County Executive Committee Member for Education Dr Mbwarali Kame said the incident is part of a worrying trend of drowning cases involving children during school holidays.

According to the county government, four children have died in similar incidents, prompting renewed calls for swimming pool owners to comply with safety regulations, including deploying qualified lifeguards.

"Hii ni incident ya pili hapa, pia tukapata incident nyengine pale Buxton Point na nyengine kule Nyali. Ikiwa swimming pool kama hizi zitaundwa katika mitaa yetu na sasa zimekuwa ndio makaburi ya watoto wetu, basi lazima kuwe na directive, lazima kutakuwa na orders ambazo zitatoka kwa department zote, mwanzo ikiwa ni department yangu ya education, environment and security," said Dr Mbwarali Kame.

The Somali community in Mombasa has also called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

"Inahuzunisha sana kila siku swimming pool zetu ziwe kaburi za watoto wetu. Nahimiza idara ya DCI wachukuwe hatua kali na wafanye serious investigation kuhusu hii incident na hatutaki ilale, ifanywe shoddy work. DCI watupatie full information what happened," said Diriye Santur, Secretary General of the Somali Community in Mombasa.

The incident comes as local tourism is expected to increase during the August school holidays, with authorities ordering an audit of swimming pools and urging operators, particularly those in residential areas, to strictly adhere to safety standards to prevent further tragedies.