Two women have been reported dead after several parts of the country were on Tuesday, October 1, hit with heavy wind storms that tore various structures and fell trees.
The two, who hail from different parts of the country, were electrocuted.
Winnie Wambui, a 32-year-old from Kirinyaga County, got electrocuted after she touched her TV aerial which had been damaged in the windstorm.
The Kiarukungu area assistant chief, Henry Kariuki, told Citizen Digital that Wambui found her TV aerial stripped off the roof and when she touched it, she was electrocuted.
In a similar incident that took place in Ongata-Rongai, Kajiado County, the winds claimed the life of a middle-aged woman.
According to the Kenya News Agency, neighbours disclosed that electricity poles brought down by the heavy winds fell on the roof of a residents house with the overhanging cables sending a current through the building's metal surfaces.
“She came late in the evening from work and went to her house upstairs oblivious of the live electricity poles which had fallen on top of the roof. She got electrocuted immediately she held the metal bars on the staircase,” a neighbour narrated.
The rare occurrence brought traffic to a standstill on several major roads due to poor visibility.
The meteorological department stated that the natural phenomena would only last for a few hours.
"The system is characterized by strong Southeasterly winds of about 15-20 Knots, updraft and downdraft winds with heavy convective rains in areas around Nairobi was due to a localized storm due to unstable atmosphere. We are monitoring it," the weatherman tweeted.
