Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Monday, October 29 woke up to devastating news about the death of a little girl who drowned in Diani, Mombasa County.
In a Facebook post, the governor raised alarm after he was informed of the demise of an 8-year-old girl, Charlene Wanjiku who drowned in a swimming pool at a luxurious hotel in the South Coast.
"I have just woken up to sad news and received the attached sad WhatsApp messages from a concerned mother on baby Charlene who drowned in the swimming pool in South Coast," posted the bitter county head.
The grade two pupill died just before a wedding that was to be held at the hotel. Charlene was one of the designated flower girls at the ceremony.
A relative who spoke to Sonko disclosed that she heard a girl screaming and jumped to her feet to check what was happening.
"I heard someone scream that a girl is drowning. I ran. A white man jumped to the pool's deep end to rescue Charlene who had already sunk to the bottom," the girl's kin recounted.
Among guests set to attend the wedding were two doctors from the United Kingdom who tried mouth to mouth resuscitation on the girl but it was too late.
Sonko further bashed the hotel for it's slow response to the emergency that saw an ambulance drive-in 30 minutes after the unfortunate incident.
Media houses were not spared by the Nairobi County boss either, as he blamed them for not reporting the matter, even after the family revealed that they conducted interviews on the minor's untimely demise.
"It is surprising that some of our media houses have been totally compromised and silenced not to report this sad incident. They must up their game and expose such incidences so that no more lives are lost under such circumstances," he criticised.
Sonko also urged hotel owners to put in place safety measures to ensure safeguard against the loss of lives during swimming sessions.
The wedding, however, proceeded after the family held a meeting to decide on the next course of action.
Charlene's death brought back sad memories of a mother and daughter, Mariam Kaghenda and Amanda Mutheu who drowned in the Indian Ocean, on September 29, after their car slid off the ferry.
The two were retrieved 13 days after they drowned due to lack of necessary rescue equipment and safety measures by the Kenya Ferry Services (KFS).
