This archive report was first published on 27 July 2019.
On July 26, 2019, Ikolomani Member of Parliament Bernard Shinali received devastating news: his 35-year-old son, Chris Masaka, had died in a swimming pool in Arizona State while on holiday with his family.
According to the family, Chris Masaka worked with the US Marine and was on holiday in Arizona with his family when the tragic incident occurred.
The family received reports that Chris Masaka had drowned in a swimming pool while trying to save a child, but the circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear.
MP Shinali will be leaving for the US to attend to the matter and to arrange for the funeral.
Several leaders from Kakamega county, including National Assembly Chief Whip Benjamin Washiali, Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe, and Kakamega County MP Elsie Muhanda, visited and condoled with the MP.
Mr. Malala said, 'I condole the family of Mr. Shinali for the untimely demise of his son through a tragic water accident. May God grant the family the serenity and capacity to go over this hard and trying moment.'
Ms. Muhanda said she received the news of the death of the young Masaka with shock, stating, 'It is disheartening that he had gone to save a child from the swimming pool but died in the process.'
Mr. Washiali described the deceased as a hero who perished while saving humanity, saying, 'It is not clear how a person who trained to survive in difficult situations like the US marine could drown in a swimming pool. Humanity will remember the young man for his bravery because he died saving a life.'
