Cate Wanderi who lost five family members in the 2018 Solai Dam tragedy.
A Nakuru family that lost five members in the 2018 Solai dam tragedy is among those whose kin is missing following Monday’s flash floods that killed 52 in Mai Mahiu.
Cate Wanderi’s family has been thrust back into a familiar nightmare following uncertainty surrounding the fate of three-year-old Isaac Thuku.
Wanderi told Nation.Africa that the unknown whereabouts of her grandson Isaac have added to the anguish of their past loss.
Isaac Thuku, 3 years old, one of the missing in the Mai Mahiu tragedy.
"For our family, this tragedy has opened the wounds of the Solai dam tragedy where I lost five of my family members. We are devastated and we don't know what to do," Wanderi said.
The boy, who was in his mother's arms during the incident, was swept away by the floodwaters.
Despite his father's brave attempt to rescue him, Isaac remains missing, leaving the family in a state of anguish and despair.
“Fortunately, Isaac’s parents were saved but he is still missing. We don't know where he is. The father was trying to rescue him but he slipped and was swept away. We are yet to establish if he died or was rescued."
The granny said the family visited mortuaries and hospitals, but the boy had not been found.
"For four days now we have been hoping to find our son but all efforts have been futile. We now leave everything to God," added Wanderi.
To the family, the Mai Mahiu tragedy has evoked memories of the May 8, 2018, Solai disaster that also killed 48 people and left hundreds of others homeless.
The private dam, located inside Patel Farm in Solai, owned and managed by Perry Mansukh Kansagara and Vinoj Jaya Kumar, burst its banks at night, washing away the surrounding villages of Energy, Nyakinyua, Endao, Milmet and Arutani.
The dam waters and tumbling debris hit Energy village at high speed, washing away homes, cars and huge rocks towards the other villages downstream in pitch darkness.
At least 51 people are still said to be missing, according to the Kenya Red Cross Society.
Families whose loved ones were still missing were walking anxiously in and out of the Ngeya Girls Secondary School command centre, waiting to receive "good news" from those in the search mission.
On Thursday, the government set up a mobile Huduma Centre to issue identification documents to victims who had lost them in the disaster.
