Dejected Abimbo family cling on hope of burying kin two months on

Ms Joyce Achola, 58 sits under the shade of a tree with her head buried in her hands, looking forlorn and dejected.

A short distance from her, the towering heap of rubble from the collapsed Abimbo mine in Bondo Sub County has left a permanent scar in her mind after her only son and forth born child Tom Okwach, 35 was trapped in the collapsed mine on December 2, last year.

For the last 66 days, Ms Achola has been going through the pain of losing her son and hoping that rescue team would finally retrieve his body from the rubble so that the family could bury him.

The miner’s family has been forced to erect a tent near the collapsed gold mine, praying and hoping for a miracle that has now turned into a nightmare after rescue teams packed their bags and equipment and left, dashing the faint glimmer of hope of ever retrieving Okwach’s body.

Okwach was among the 10 miners who were trapped in the collapsed mine while prospecting for gold in the shafts.

One of the miners died in the tragedy while eight others were pulled out the rubble alive.

Communication with rescuers

Until December 8, 2021, Okwach had been in active communication with the rescue teams.

He had managed to communicate to the teams his location in the collapsed mine.

Okwach had told his colleagues that although the underground water levels had kept rising, he had moved to a safer place and was fine.

This reassured his colleagues and other rescuers that it would be just a matter of days before they managed to rescue him from the rubble as they painstakingly dug their way and tried to clear the tunnel of the heap of rocks and soil.

But their hopes were dashed when the rain set in and the soil and rocks in the mien started collapsing, making it difficult for the rescue teams to carry on with their operations.

The national and county governments brought in excavators to help haul the soils and rocks from the site and make it easy for the rescue team to reach the trapped miner. But the operation was beset with logistical nightmares after the excavators ran out of fuel.

Body still underground

Two months later, Okwach’s body remains buried several feet underground while the family’s hope of ever reuniting with their kin either dead or alive have petered away.

The rescue operations was interrupted by the collapse of the weak shaft which led the rescue teams to withdraw their withdrawal of services.

The family is depending on meals, water and other provisions from relatives, friends and other well-wishers who visit the site to empathise with them.

Despite the onset of the short rains in January, the family braved the cold and chilly weather and continued camping next to the abandoned mine.

“A number of people and organisations who came to help with the rescue operations have been withdrawing their services and now we have watching helplessly as days go by,” said Ms Achola.

Roar of machines

But as the family continues to mourn their son, the roar of machines from a nearby mine which sprung up after the Abimbo mine collapsed has continued to haunt them.

The miners have been going about their activities interrupted as the Okwach family watches helpless from their patch under the shade of the tree.

The family members reported that the county government of Siaya disaster management team was the first to leave the site on December 17, 2021.

Other rescue teams left shortly after and have never returned to check on the family.

According to Ms Atieno, the family has organised fundraisers to be able to hire an excavator and pay the rescue team of 40 workers to resume the search for Okwach’s body.

The family said it has now been left at the mercy of well-wishers.

"Our wish is to bury Okwach at home. We will appreciate the efforts by authorities to help us retrieve his body,” said Ms Achola who says the spirit of her son will never be at peace if left in the mines.

Ms Achola is diabetic and has been forced to cope with the unhealthy conditions, including missing out on her meals, affecting her health.

The Siaya County Disaster Management officer Mr George Aola said: "We are trying our best, I am aware that the rescue activity is not as active as before but that should not mean we abandoned the exercise.”

He further stated that the county is making arrangements to have Sh6 million allocated to pay for the services of the excavator and other rescue teams.

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