Mai Mahiu tragedy: Residents received a warning in church, but waited for gov't communication

Through the local churches, the families had been warned that the water could spill over but due to the extended distance of their homes to the dam, many ignored the advice.

Hours later, the walls of the water body caved in, sweeping away hundreds of people, livestock and personal effects in an accident described by victims as a bad dream only recorded in horror movies.

The Ministry of Interior says 52 bodies have since been retrieved from the site, and 51 people are still missing. This, however, is contrary to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s statement on Tuesday, where he told Inooro FM that the death toll had hit 71. 

At Naivasha Sub-county hospital, survivors narrated how the flash floods caught them unawares, killing their relatives and dreams in a matter of minutes.

Among the survivors is Peter Waweru, who lost his wife and two children but escaped with leg and hip fracture after being swept by the gushing waters for over two kilometers.

Waweru said that on Sunday, local churches informed worshippers of the pending danger as heavy rains continued to pound the area.

The 54-year-old father of four narrated how the floods caught them by surprise adding that efforts to rescue his children were fruitless due to the pressure from the water.

And in the female ward, Mary Muthoni, who lost eight members of the family was in pain as she tried to come to terms with the Monday morning incident.

She said that over 15 family members including minors had converged in her home in Ruiru village to raise funds for her son who is in remand for an assault case.

After deliberations they decided that those present should spend the night as it was late only for the floods to sweep everything including her children and grandchildren, she said before breaking down.

She narrated how she rode on a log before managing to swim to safety where members of the public managed to rescue her.

Another survivor, John Kinuthia, confirmed hearing the news over the dangers posed by the water body from local residents but ignored them as it was not official.

He added that those downstream were kilometers away from the dam and it never occurred to them that they would be victims.

He saw on TV Naivasha East MCA warning over the dangers posed by the water body but since government officers had not warned them, they ignored the messages before the tragedy struck.

On her part, Lydia Wangeci who is nursing a fracture said that they had visited her sister and they were deep asleep when the incident occurred.

“I tried to save one of the sister’s children but due to the pressure from the water, we were separated but I got stuck between two boulders where I was rescued,” she said.

Speaking on phone, Kenya Red Cross manager Felix Maiyo said that one body and a head had been recovered by the search team as the search exercise entered day three.

He termed the debris swept by the floods and tonnes of sand as some of the major challenges that the team was encountering while searching for more bodies.

Maiyo confirmed the presence of the KDF officers as promised by President William Ruto, noting that this could go a long way in getting the missing bodies.

They have managed to recover two more bodies which include a head and the presence of KDF officers with heavy machinery and sniffer dogs will make the search exercise easier.

According to Water Cabinet Secretary (CS) Zechariah Njeru a blocked railway line tunnel preventing proper flow of water through River Tongi was the genesis of the flash floods. 

"The channel got blocked due to debris, stones, trees and soil brought about by the heavy downpour in the area thereby preventing water flowing through the River Tongi course and its small tributaries to move downstream," said Njeru.