This archive report was first published on 9 November 2019.
On October 25, 2019, Charlene Wanjiku, an 8-year-old flower girl, was excited to attend her aunt's wedding at Neptune Hotel in Diani, Kwale County.
Charlene's aunt had chosen Diani for the wedding to allow relatives from Kenya to attend, and Charlene's grandfather, Martin Mbugua, had asked her to be a flower girl.
However, tragedy struck when Charlene decided to cool down from the heat by going for a swim at the hotel's pool, just two hours before the wedding.
Despite attempts by two doctors, who were guests at the wedding, to save her life through CPR, Charlene was pronounced dead at Palm Beach Hospital.
Her mother, Rhoda Mbugua, had not traveled to the Coast for the wedding as she was nursing her two-month-old baby at home in Limuru, Kiambu County.
The family is accusing the hotel's management of not treating the matter seriously, and they claim that the hotel did not have lifeguards on duty.
Police have launched investigations into the incident, and the family is urging parents to be vigilant and not leave their children alone, especially during holiday season.
