A family in Eastleigh, Nairobi is demanding answers after their 11-year-old son, Elias Abdikarim Ali Mohamud drowned in a swimming pool at Visa Oshwal Primary School.
The circumstances surrounding his untimely death remain shrouded in mystery, prompting demands for justice from his grieving family.
According to the family, Elias, a grade two pupil at Visa Oshwal Primary School, was reported missing on Tuesday 20th February 2024 afternoon.
Despite exhaustive search efforts, the young boy’s whereabouts remained unknown until Wednesday morning, when his lifeless body was discovered inside the school’s swimming pool.
His absence was only realized by his father when he arrived to pick him up at 4:00 pm.
Elias’s father recounted his anguish, stating, “I asked everywhere, and we searched everywhere, but he was nowhere to be found. When I inquired with his coach, he asked me about his class, and I told him it is grade two Faith. He later brought some papers looked at them and mentioned that there were no swimming classes scheduled for Grade 2 that day.”
Omar Hussein, a family friend, echoed the sentiments of shock and disbelief in efforts for the search of Elias.
“Since yesterday and today we had been searching for the child. We even went to Parklands police station to report the matter. Later, at around 11: 00 am in the morning, we received the heartbreaking news that Elias had been found in the swimming pool.”
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Family Seeks Answers over Swimming Pool Incident
The family accused the school administration of negligence asserting that the tragic death could have been avoided if the class teacher was vigilant enough to notice the student’s absence from class for over an hour, especially considering he was new to the school.
“We see there is significant negligence. Why didn’t the teacher become suspicious that perhaps something happened if the child left the classroom and was absent for one hour?” Mohamed Adan a family friend posed.
Another issue highlighted by the family is the absence of CCTV cameras in the swimming pool area, despite their presence in other parts of the school.
“When we inquired about the presence of cameras in the school, we were told there are cameras, but they do not cover the entire school, and that is something alarming,” Adan remarked.
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Family lawyer Danstan Omari termed the incident “a clear case of negligence” saying he would be seeking legal justice.
“We shall be moving further to look at other legal avenues both criminal and civil to redress the family that has lost the young, brilliant future leader,” said Omari.
Authorities, including the Parklands Police and Ministry of Education officials, have launched investigations into the incident, aiming to uncover the events leading to Elias’s tragic demise.
