For over a week, Benson Wandera Wangila, 53, has camped along the banks of River Chemosit at Kwa Reuben, waiting for his son’s body. 

John Masafu Wandera, 22, a second year Bachelor of Science, Human Resource Management student at University of Kabianga reportedly went for a swim with three friends on May 4 before he drowned.

He drowned while trying to save his friend being swept away by the raging waters.

“Where is my son?”  Wangila, a former army officer from Kamusinga in Bungoma County, who now works as operations manager with a local security firm in Nairobi, wonders loudly.

“When my wife and other family members called to inform me about the incident, I didn’t even know what to say. Everything has literally come to a standstill for us,” he says.

The father of six has been camping at the river, 13km from University of Kabianga, hoping his son’s body would be retrieved.

Wangila recalls his eldest son informed him his younger brother had drowned at 9:30pm on the fateful Saturday.

“I called the administration but by then they couldn’t confirm anything but later at 2:30am I was called with a confirmation,” he says.

He travelled to the scene the following day on Sunday, May 5 and found the university Vice Chancellor Kipng’eno Koech, his two deputies Prof Erick Koech and Prof Joseph Ojiambo among other senior administrators and local divers searching for the body.

He also met three of his son’s friends who were with him when the incident occurred.

“They told me they had gone for a picnic by the river bank when they decided to swim but one of them began drowning and my son went to rescue him only to drown,” he says.

The university brought in divers from Kisumu but they left after three days when they failed to locate the body and now only local divers are continuing with rescue efforts.

Mr Phillip Koskei, University of Kabianga assistant registrar, administration, who has been at the scene co-ordinating efforts to retrieve the body on behalf of the university vice chancellor who is attending a Joint Admission Board meeting in Nairobi says, the university has informed local authorities about the incident.

He says County Commissioner Rashid Mohammed, OCPD Clement Gatogo among others have visited the scene.

Mr Mohammed said he had contacted National Disaster Management for help. But by the time of going to press, they were yet to arrive.  “The university is doing all it can to retrieve the body of our student,” he adds.