A pit filled with water in which a child drowned at Mlolongo phase 3 estate in Athi River, Machakos county on June 7, 2026.Athi River East Subcounty police commander Anderson Mbae said the body was discovered lying in a trench at Pepe area within the Athi River Township on Saturday morning.
The matter was reported to the Athi River police station as a sudden death incident report at 9.40 am.
"It was reported by a local administrator that there was a body lying beside the road in the Pepe area. The scene was visited by the orderly officer, duty officers and DCI personnel," Mbae told the Star on Sunday.
Mbae said it was established that a lifeless body of an unknown man aged 34 years was lying beside the road.
The scene was documented by the officers, and no physical injuries were noted.
Police removed the body to Shalom Community Hospital morgue, awaiting an autopsy.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations detectives, attached to Athi River police station, have launched investigations into the incident.
Elsewhere in Mlolongo, within the same Athi River Subcounty, police are investigating an incident where a 2-year-old drowned in an open pit at a construction site in Mlolongo phase 3 area.
Locals said the minor died on the spot after he fell into the pit filled with stormwater on Friday.
They claim that it wasn't the first time a child drowned in the same pit.
Locals removed the body to a mortuary in Athi River, awaiting an autopsy.
They are now demanding justice for the child, claiming that another child died after drowning in the same pit three years ago.
Residents blame the owners of the pit for the minors' death, claiming they had been left open, unsecured and unattended for ages.
They claimed that even though they reported the incidents to the relevant authorities in the area, no legal actions had been taken against the owner of the site, whose premises two children lost their lives.
The residents have called on relevant authorities to intervene in the matter to avoid more such deaths in the area.
