Written by Leonard Wamalwa 2012-07-10 10:39:00 Read 425 Times

A middle-aged man drowned in a borehole in Kitale village of Kinyoro location in Trans Nzoia West district as he embarked on a cleaning exercise that he had been hired to do.

Kitale police boss Lucas Ogara confirmed that James Ngeiywo 42, who had been hired by the owner of the borehole Richard ngeiywo 48 was said to have slipped and fell into the water in the hole that led to his eventual death.

“It seems this man was not aware of the level of water that was in the borehole so as he was climbing down to start his cleaning work, he slipped on the walls and dropped into the water and failed to salvage himself after the slip and thus drowned,” said the police chief to reporters in his office.

He said that the man was a known cleaner of boreholes in the area hence the incident was unfortunate to have led to his death.

“We were informed a bit late and thus when the police reached there with the Kitale municipal council rescue team the man had already died from drowning and thus we managed to retrieve the body and took it to Kitale district hospital mortuary,” Ogara added.

The police boss at the same time issued a stern warning to witchdoctors who have been cross-crossing the area in the pretext of helping residents apprehend criminals who continue causing havoc in the area hence leading to lynching of suspects unlawfully.

Ogara noted that it was illegal for the witchdoctors to lead to the lynching of such suspects who are not given chance to be tried in a normal legal procedure in relation to the alleged crimes.

He said that despite there being some laws governing the operations of such practices, the police at the same time would not hesitate to have such operators and their accomplices be arraigned in a court of law if they lead to deaths of suspected people who are innocent.

“We shall not hesitate to arraign in court witchdoctors who will through their practices lead to deaths of people purported to be suspects through lynching by the mob because it is against the law for members of the public to execute people they claim to be suspects as directed by the witchdoctors who are famously known to make the suspects eat grass,” said Ogara.

The OCPD added that police are following up all the incidents that have taken place in the area in that context and will immediately prosecute any suspect linked to the killings whether it is one of the witchdoctors or a member of the public involved in the mob killing.

He termed the practice as primitive and unacceptable in the current society where the rule of the law should prevail.

At least ten people suspected to be criminals according to the witchdoctors visiting the area have been killed in cold blood in bizarre incidents that have seen residents and witchdoctors celebrate victory as the families of the suspects are left with many unanswered questions to the loss of their loved ones.

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