KDF retrieves body of man from Uasin Gishu dam after 6-day search

According to KDF, the body was retrieved on Saturday by the Kenya Navy Clearance Diving Unit (KN CDU) and the 9th Battalion, Kenya Rifles (9 KR) specialist.

The recovery followed a six-day search and rescue mission by local divers and other agencies that failed due to the dam’s 80-foot depth and difficult underwater conditions.

“To overcome these challenges, KDF deployed a specialized team equipped with advanced JJ Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR) systems, which provided longer dive durations and extended search range beyond the limits of conventional SCUBA equipment. This capability enabled the divers to successfully locate and recover the body in a much shorter time,” KDF said in a statement on Sunday.

The man, as a school driver in Uasin Gishu drowned in the dam last Sunday, as he had gone to was the school van.

Efforts to retrieve his body had been in vain, prompting KDF intervention.

Ngeria ward MCA David Kering has called for the urgent fencing off of the dams which emerged after quarry activities in the area to avert such cases. 

Kering noted that several people have lost their lives after drowning in the dam.