Grief as Standard 8 pupil drowns after prayer session

Grief and sorrow has engulfed Kodaro – Nasewa village after a class eight pupil drowned in River Sio on Saturday.

The deceased, Edwin Oduor, was in the company of eight others, including the pastor of Grace Hope Church, six class eight candidates and one Form four candidate.

The eight were on their way from an overnight prayer at a nearby village across the river to seek religious intervention regarding the on-going teachers’ strike and the coming national exams when their boat was swept away by strong waves.

According to Justus Otieno, a Form Four candidate at Nasewa Secondary School who survived the ordeal, they were rescued by their pastor but Edwin was not very lucky.

Otieno said he escaped the tragedy due to the little skills he had in swimming, other students were rescued by the  pastor only to realise later that one of them was missing.

The deceased’s mother, Elizabeth Adhiambo Oduor, explained that she had a lot of expectations from his son as she was expecting him to be a doctor in future.

The mother of eight said she has now remained with seven children after the sudden demise of her third born child.

The family was subjected to two days cold while observing cultural norms that included animal sacrifices.

Charles Juma Olele, who is a village elder, explained that the community is forced to abide by such norms to appease the spirit of the dead.

He said the diver who found the body and the team will set camp at the deceased home until the end of the funeral service.

By Lilian Osiema