Birthday celebration turns tragic as man drowns in Naivasha Spa

Olkaria Geothermal Spa. [File Standard]

A trip by friends to upcountry for a birthday celebration turned tragic when the man of the moment drowned in a private swimming pool in Naivasha.

Dennis Gitonga, 44, was pronounced dead at Naivasha sub-county hospital, where he was rushed to following the midday incident at Kengen’s Geothermal Spa in Olkaria.

Emotions ran high among his colleagues and relatives who had travelled with the deceased from Nairobi to mark his birthday as police moved in to investigate the case.

Naivasha DCIO Isaac Kiama confirmed the incident, adding that they had launched investigations and opened an inquest file.

He said that they had recorded statements from Kengen officials and some of the friends who had accompanied the deceased to the spa.

“The family has been informed about the death, and in such a case, we shall seek an inquiry from the courts as part of the investigations,” he said.

According to a witness, Simon Kuria, the group of friends had arrived in the popular spa for a swim, but hours later, the deceased was found unconscious.

He told how the friends started a resuscitation exercise as medics from Kengen joined in before he was transferred to hospital using the company’s ambulance.

“Some of the friends joined him in the ambulance, but unfortunately he was pronounced dead on arrival at the sub-county hospital,” he said.

Meanwhile, a 41-year-old man took his life in Naivasha as cases of suicide around the lakeside town continued to rise.

This brought to five the number of people who have committed suicide in the last two weeks, with family disputes, depression and use of drugs blamed for the cases.

The body of the man who was working as a casual labourer was found hanging in his house near Naivasha Boarding Primary by a kin before police were called in.

According to the DCIO, the deceased had fallen out with his wife and travelled upcountry before returning over the weekend so that they could resolve their differences.

“The wife who works in one of the flower farms was not around when the incident occurred, and the body has been picked up, and investigations into the incident kicked off,” he said.