One week later, Kirinyaga trader's body still not retrieved from river
A Kirinyaga businessman, Samuel Kamau, 41, who went missing after his vehicle plunged into the Sagana River.
It is one week now since a Kirinyaga businessman went missing after his vehicle allegedly plunged into the Sagana River.
The businessman, Samuel Kamau, 41, disappeared on Thursday last week under unclear circumstances and efforts by the Kenya Defence Forces soldiers to trace him together with his vehicle, a Nissan double cabin, have borne no fruits.
On Tuesday, KDF soldiers from the Disaster Response Battalion suspended the search efforts for the trader who was well known in Sagana and Kagio areas where he carried out his businesses.
The operation witnessed by Kirinyaga County Commissioner Allasow Hussein, other senior security officers and scores of residents from the county was halted until further notice.
Missing trader and his vehicle
Soldiers cited the high speed and intensity of the water as the stumbling block to the search efforts and suspended the operation until they acquired sophisticated machinery which would enable them to recover the missing trader and his vehicle.
The family admitted that their son was missing together with his vehicle and expressed hope that he would be found.
"It is true we have not seen our son who reportedly plunged into the river," said Ms Grace Wambui, the sister.
Kamau, a son of Kagio tycoon the late Peter Kagwanja, was travelling home from the neighbouring Murang'a County at around 11pm when he encountered the accident, leaving the family in shock.
Social place
Before the accident, Kamau was in a social place with friends, according to the family.
The family recounted how Kamau left Murang'a to see a friend in Sagana, his home area.
As he headed to Sagana, he called his friend and continued talking to him on the phone while driving.
"From the information we have gathered, our brother was engaged in a phone conversation with his friend as he was returning home from Sagana to meet him at night. Suddenly he went silent," said Wambui.
Wambui said his brother's friend has even recorded a statement with the police.
"When my brother failed to arrive in Sagana as he had promised and his phone went off suddenly, his friend became suspicious that something was amiss and he travelled to Murang'a to look for him but he didn't find him," explained Wambui.
His friend reported the matter to the Sagana Police Station and recorded a statement.
Wambui said they believe he drowned.
"A witness confessed having seen the vehicle running into the fast-flowing river, we are asking the government to ensure it is recovered and my brother is found," she said.
A wife and three children
"My brother is a family man, he has a wife and three children. We are anxiously waiting to know what exactly happened to him," added Ms Wambui.
"It appears as if my brother's vehicle hit something before it went flying into the river because a piece of metal suspected to be that of his car was found at the scene," she said.
"The family and even the area residents loved him so much, he was very social," she said.
Residents narrated how they rushed to the scene when they learned a vehicle had plunged into the water.
"When we arrived there, we looked for the car but we neither found it nor the owner," one of the residents said.
