Family queries death of their son in hotel pool

Family members of the late Mark Marigi (INSET) gather outside the Nakuru War Memorial Funeral Home waiting for conclusion of their son’s postmortem who died at Kivu Resort on Sunday, [PHOTO: BONIFACE THUKU/STANDARD]

Kivu Resort has been accused of negligence after a 21-year-old man drowned at the hotel’s swimming pool on Sunday.

Nelson Ng’ang’a said his son Mark Marigi was healthy when he left home on Sunday afternoon to attend his friend’s wedding planning meeting at Kanu Street a few metres from the resort.

Ng’ang’a said Marigi and his friend David Maina decided to stop at the resort for a swim, while waiting for the meeting to start, and it was here the tragic incident occurred.

“I was only blessed with two sons and I cannot believe my last born is now gone due to negligence. Had there been a life saver by the pool, my son would not have died. It pains me.

All I want is to get clear information on what transpired leading to his death and for justice to be done,” he told The Standard at War Memorial Funeral Home where a post-mortem was being conducted.

However, while the hotel’s Marketing and Public Relations Manager Peter Kamau confirmed that Marigi died in their swimming pool, he absolved the hotel of negligence.

“It is true the deceased checked into the resort at 4:53pm accompanied by a friend and paid to take a swim only for his body to be retrieved at 5:19pm. We are, however, not to blame for his death,” he told The Standard.

The manager was, however, hard pressed to explain why the lifesaver, who he insisted had been at the poolside, did not see the deceased drowning and pull him out to safety.

NOT THERE

Kamau’s claims were contradicted by Maina who said he left his friend Marigi swimming and went to sit on the other side of the restaurant away from the pool because he was not feeling well.

He said he came back to the pool area some 30 minutes later to see what was taking his friend so long since it was almost the pool’s closing time.

“I did not find Marigi and neither did I see any life saver on duty. Unable to locate either, I reached out to one of the employees who insisted I should search for my friend around the hotel premises,” Maina said.

He said after searching for Marigi all over the establishment with no luck, he again reached out to the same employee who got into the pool and a few minutes later retrieved the body.

“The employee tried to administer first aid but there was no response.

“He told me to dress my friend, find a vehicle and rush him to hospital before disappearing, leaving me alone to reach out to friends and family members who arranged for the body to be taken to the mortuary,” Maina said.

Ng’ang’a said when he got to the hotel at 5:40pm, he found his son’s body beside the pool and there was no one from the hotel to tell him what exactly happened and police got there at around 7pm.

“If the resort is genuine that it was an accident, why did they not rush to report its occurrence to police who are stationed just a few metres away,” he says.

Ng’ang’a also said the hotel management has not communicated to the family since Sunday.