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Kenya: Enziu – the River of Death in Kitui

Published

4 years ago

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The Enziu River crossing in Mwingi East has been a death trap for years. Hardly a year passes without people drowning in the seasonal river that flows from Mumoni Hills, cutting across Mwingi North and Mwingi Central constituencies, before joining River Tana.

Last year, five people ferrying charcoal perished after their truck was swept away at the same spot where 23 choir members died on Saturday.

Three years ago, four bodies of people who drowned at the same spot were recovered after three weeks of frantic search by rescue teams drawn from the county government of Kitui, Kenya Red Cross, National Youth Service and the Disaster Management Unit.

Mangled wreck of the Toyota Probox they were travelling in was found buried 10 metres underneath the river bed– about 100 metres from the river’s killer bridge after days of excavating the river bed.

In 2019, a secondary school principal and his driver escaped death by a whisker after a Land Rover ferrying exam papers was overpowered by the swollen river.

The test papers, which were swept away by the raging waters, were later retrieved by Good Samaritans.

And the river keeps swallowing people for a reason.

An overhead bridge project that was supposed to ease transport in the region was abandoned midway in 2018.

Bus tragedy

Damages on the surface bridge have left a death trap that residents have to deal with every rainy season.

The overhead bridge project was initiated by former Mwingi Central MP Joe Mutambu but was abandoned midway soon after he lost elections to Gideon Mulyungi.

It is one of the many white elephant projects that dot the country due to lack of continuity after change of office bearers at both county and national levels.

Every year, a delegation of top government engineers visits the Enziu bridge with promises to have it completed to ease transport along the Nuu-Nguni route in Mwingi.

Public Works Principal Secretary Paul Maringa is the latest high ranking government official to tour the bridge recently, promising action.

Prof Maringa said that as a short-term measure, the government would first improve the drift which was almost swept by water last year and which caused Saturday’s bus tragedy.

“A drift will first be constructed for residents to use as the government continues with the tendering process for the main bridge which stretches up to 100 metres,” Prof Maringa said.

Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu and Bishop Joseph Mwongela of Kitui Catholic Diocese on Sunday demanded a permanent solution to the perennial drowning at the bridge.