Four children among six killed in Mombasa after wall collapses on house

Rescue workers remove debris of a wall that collapsed killing six people in Mombasa on Monday. [Maarufu Mohamed, Standard]

A woman and her three children were among six people who were killed when a perimeter wall collapsed on their makeshift house in Mombasa’s Vipingo area following heavy rains.

Sorrowful relatives recounted the horrifying accident as the county government sent out an alert, asking residents of Kalaheri, Aldina, Mburukenge, and Bangladesh to move to higher ground.

Mombasa County Secretary Francis Thoya said the wallseparating Pandya Hospital and Mbaraki Girls High School had collapsed abruptly due to the rains.

A relative of the victims identified the deceased as Mariam Chirindo Mwanduka and her children Hamisi Kamau (6), Ismail Kote (2), and Francis Mwanduka (4).

The others were six-year-old Amir Chea and a man who sells roast cassava in the area who could not be immediately identified.

Mwanduka was staying with her three children at her sister-in-law’s house as she waited to be treated at the Coast Provincial General Hospital, where she had been referred from Rabai in Kilifi County.

According to her sister-in-law, Sofia Chea, who lost her son in the tragedy, Ms Mwanduka was suffering from tuberculosis and was supposed to report to the hospital on May 16.

“My sister-in-law and the children were using the temporary structure as a shade when the wall suddenly collapsed,” she said.

Ms Chea lost her six-year-old son, Amir, who was playing around the temporary structure.

The bodies were retrieved by a joint team of Kenya Red Cross (KRC) workers, the county government’s disaster management team, and police.

Last evening, police, KRC officials, and Mombasa County Government said there were no more bodies buried under the rubble.

Looming disaster

Mr Thoya asked Mombasa residents to be vigilant during the rainy season.

“The areas mentioned (Kalaheri, Aldina, Mburukenge, and Bangladesh) are known to be low-lying and since it’s a rainy season there might be disaster looming. We would like to caution them to move to higher ground,” he said.

He added that the county government was working with different stakeholders to manage the current state of flooding in Mombasa in the wake of the rains.

“We have liaised with county administrators to identify areas where rescue centres can be opened to cater for the affected families,” he added.

He also said the Transport and Infrastructure Department was seeking ways to manage flooded roads.

Heavy rains that have been pounding different parts of the Coast region since Friday last week have wreaked havoc in Mombasa, affecting traffic along the busy Mombasa-Malindi highway.

Impassable roads

People living in Bamburi could not cross over to Utange after a bridge under construction was washed away.

“My children are still held up in school. The roads are impassable,” said Isabella Nyaga, a parent at St Claret Primary School in Kiembeni.

Director of Health Shem Patta said the county would distribute treated mosquito nets by the end of the month as part of renewed efforts to combat malaria.

Dr Patta advised residents to ensure that their water storage containers are sealed and windows shut when not in use to keep mosquitoes out of their homes.

The county’s malaria control coordinator Fatuma Dume has raised the alarm over an increase in the number of malaria cases in Mombasa due to the onset of the rains.

Ms Dume advised residents to sleep under treated mosquito nets and to avoid using self-medication when they fall ill.