School thrown into mourning after Form IV girl drowns while hiking Mt Kenya

A tour of Mt Kenya  Forest turned tragic when a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidate drowned.

Grace Wanjiku,18,  was among 200 students from Mugoiri Girls Secondary School who were hiking Mt Kenya during a recreation exercise when the tragedy struck.

The Saturday incident threw the girl's family into mourning.

The school management had taken the candidates for a tour of the mountain at Castle in Gichugu Constituency to motivate them before sitting for the examinations.

The family said their daughter slipped as she and her colleagues were enjoying the beauty of the snow-capped mountain and Fordforce fall. She rolled back before plunging into the swollen Kathitha river.

Efforts by her colleagues and teachers to save her life bore no fruit as the strong current swept her downstream.

However, forest rangers swung into action and retrieved the body of the victim.

The girl's  uncle, Joseph Mungai  said he was shocked by the incident.

Mr Mungai called for investigations to establish the actual circumstances under which the girl met her death.

" We would like to know exactly what transpired while our daughter was in the forest with her colleagues," he said.

Gichugu Sub-County director of criminal investigations Millicent Ochuka said the matter was immediately reported to Kianyaga police station for investigations.

Ms Ochuka said another student was rescued by forest rangers after slipping into the waters.

Ms Ochuka said the body of the student was taken to Kerugoya Referral  Hospital mortuary.

The girl's mother, Nyambura Karanja  arrived at the scene as the sad news spread only to be met by weeping students.

Mr Mungai said the family had lost a bright girl.

The school principal declined to comment on the issue but promised to give comprehensive details of what happened during the tour.