Kamukunji officer swept away by floods still missing, family calls for action

The family of the Kamukunji police officer, whose body was swept away by floods on Sunday night, is still in grief as his body is yet to be found seven days later.

The officer, David Chesire, is believed to have been swept into a sunken manhole while rescuing trapped families in the area.

According to police reports, Chesire rescued four people, including three women and a child, who had been trapped in a flooded house. The four had been trapped between a slab connecting their stalls and the pedestrian walkway.

"While on duty, they were trying to rescue three women and a child in stalls 3 and 4 from the partial collapse of the slab connecting their stalls and the pedestrian walkway. After a successful rescue, David Chesire, who was deployed with other officers, went back to assist in locking the stalls when suddenly the remaining slab caved in and as a result, the officer was swept away by the raging waters,” read the police report.

But seven days later, the body of the officer attached to the Kamukunji police station has not yet been found.

Joseph Chesire, his father, said they have conducted a search everywhere within the area, but their efforts have not borne any fruits.

"I was very happy when I heard my son rescued four people. But now he is nowhere to be seen. We searched for him everywhere, but he is yet to be found," he said during an interview with Citizen TV on Saturday.

The family has now put the government on the spot, saying no critical measures have been undertaken to find the officer.

"My son died while at work. So, I'm pleading with the government, since my son did his job, they should also hasten the process of looking for him," he said.

Officers indicated that the family has been camping at the scene where the police drowned with the rescue team since Tuesday.

They, however, noted that they had recovered 11 bodies from various places in the city, following the heavy downpour.

The officials noted that the toll is expected to rise as more families have reported that their friends and kin are missing.

Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei said the emergency teams collected 11 bodies, but Chesire’s body was not among them.

He said they are not sure if he is dead, but efforts to search for him are on.

“The teams are still searching for the officer. We have camped where he drowned in vain,” he said.

More than 8,200 residents living in the slums of Kamukunji, Nairobi, endured a chilly night as their homes were swept away by flash floods, leaving their livelihoods shattered.

According to Kamukunji Sub-County Commissioner James Kamau, this is one of the worst disasters to have struck Kamukunji in recent years.

Kamau, whose officials have been on the ground since early Monday morning assessing the situation, estimated that 8,200 people in Kamukunji have been severely affected by the flash floods.