There was drama on Monday night at Ngurubani in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, during the retrieval of a 25-year-old man’s body from a dam after the lead diver was robbed of Ksh.6,000, which had been collected by the community to facilitate the recovery operation.

The man, Kelvin Gitonga, had drowned on Sunday while attempting to swim across a National Irrigation Authority dam to win a Ksh.300 bet. His body was eventually retrieved by local divers led by Danson Murango from Difathas village.


According to residents, the search for Gitonga’s body lasted the entire day, with it finally being recovered around 6 p.m. The community had contributed over Ksh.30,000 to support the divers, which was shared among the six who participated in the recovery.

However, after Murango distributed the funds to his fellow divers, he was robbed of his share by a group of youths who created confusion as police officers were taking custody of the body.


“After giving my friends their share, I was immediately robbed by some youths who caused a disturbance while the police were handling the body,” Murango recounted.

Despite efforts by residents of Ngurubani and Kamucege to chase down the gang of six who took the money, they were unsuccessful, leaving Murango empty-handed. The incident has been reported to Wanguru police station.