Why body retrieved from Lake Victoria can't leave for burial yet

Villagers from Lihunda Beach in Lake Victoria

Villagers from Lihunda Beach in Lake Victoria as they wait for the bodies of the nine band members who died after their boat capsized to be rescued on October 7, 2016. The body of a 35-year-old man who drowned in the area continues to lie at the beach as the search for his colleague entered day two.

Photo credit: Tonny Omondi | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • While Richard Onyango’s body was recovered, his colleague Peter Ochieng, 34, is still lying on the shore.
  • The duo were with four others when their boat capsized several metres from the Lihunda beach.
  • Under Luo culture, family members of the victims will also continue camping at the shore until the body is retrieved.

The body of a 35-year-old man who drowned in Lake Victoria on Thursday continues to lie at the Lihunda beach in Siaya County as the search for his colleague entered day two.

Locals believe the first body must remain by the shoreline until they retrieve the other one as a way of hastening the search.

While Richard Onyango’s body was recovered, his colleague Peter Ochieng, 34, is still lying on the shore.

The duo were with four others when their boat capsized several metres from the Lihunda beach.

The search for the remaining body was going on despite a myriad of challenges, said Lihunda Beach Management Unit chair John Nyapoda.

“We have called on community members, well-wishers and our leaders to step in and help us with funds to facilitate the search. However, none is forthcoming,” Mr Nyapoda said.

Under Luo culture, family members of the victims will also continue camping at the shore until the body is retrieved.

“We are overwhelmed as we need to feed and provide fuel for the search team,” Mr Nyapoda added.

Blind eye

Communities living around Lake Victoria accuse the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) of turning a blind eye to fishers who violate safety rules.

“Just like on the roads, where the police are constantly monitoring the motorists, the KMA should also keep monitoring the lake in order to arrest those flouting the laws,” said Wilson Omondi, a resident of Mageta Island.

The latest incident recalls one in June 2016, when a boat carrying 17 members of a local band from Lihunda to Ndeda Island capsized and killed nine people.

While the Siaya County government promised to train local divers and equip them with the necessary equipment, that has not happened.

In 2019, two students, a boy and a girl slid into the fast-flowing waters of the River Yala while on a sightseeing adventure and drowned.

It took one week for their bodies to be retrieved with the help of divers from Nandi County.

If the search team had modern equipment and skills, Mr Nyapoda said, the bodies would have been retrieved on the first day.

“It is sad that in the 21st century, we are still using rudimentary methods of searching for bodies from the lakes. If we don’t retrieve the body of the remaining fisherman today, we will wait for it to float on the surface after some days,” he said.