This archive report was first published on 14 December 2019.
On December 12, 2019, a 23-year-old woman from Ongito Village in Uriri, Migori county tragically lost her life after jumping into River Kuja.
The deceased, Sylvia Aluoch, had been under pressure from her merry-go-round group, known as chama, to pay a debt of Sh9,000.
According to Uriri sub-county police commander Peter Njoroge, the group had threatened to auction her property to recover the debt.
Aluoch had boarded a bodaboda belonging to one of the chama members to head back home but suddenly alighted near the river before reaching her destination.
‘She boarded a bodaboda of one of the group members on her way home but requested to alight and pick her leso which had dropped. When the motorbike stopped just next to the river, she jumped into River Kuja,’ Njoroge said.
Despite concerted efforts to rescue her, the search proved futile due to the raging water caused by heavy rains in the region.
An investigation into the incident has been launched, and the search for the missing body of the deceased continues.
