Allure of Tharaka waterfall that swallowed four varsity students
The scenic view of Ndia Iri waterfall on River Kathita in Marimanti, Tharaka Nithi County, is so picturesque that many visitors find it irresistible.
When you approach it, the hum of water falling off the cliff greets your ears as chirping birds inject the soothing effect.
The natural vegetation covering the rocks and wild flowers around the waterfall can be easily mistaken for a wedding garden.
But the locals, who have a dark history of the attraction site, flinch very time they see somebody approaching it.
To them, the four Tharaka University College students who drowned at the waterfall at weekend literally walked themselves into the jaws of death.
Residents believe the place whose name means “the sacred water” is home to their ancestors, and people are not allowed to swim, fetch water, or even fish there.
Doing so, they told the Nation, could disappoint the ancestors and cause calamity like the one that befall the students.
Local divers search for the bodies of Four Tharaka University College students who drowned in River Kathita in Tharaka-Nithi County on November 6, 2021. Three bodies were retrieved.
Oblivious of the locals’ beliefs, eight students from the college on Saturday evening took a nature walk at the waterfall and after taking selfies, six of them could not resist the temptation to dive and cool off the heat.
Immediately they plunged into the river, police say, the visitors were overwhelmed by strong water currents and pushed deep into a cave, which made it impossible to swim out.
When their two colleagues who were standing on the river banks realised their friends were no longer making movements, they suspected something was amiss and raised the alarm.
Locals from neigbouring homesteads rushed to the river and were able to save two while the rest drowned.
Bodies of three of the victims, two young men and a young woman, were recovered the same day while the fourth was retrieved yesterday morning, according to Tharaka South Sub County Police Commander Kiprop Rutto.
By the time of going to press, police were yet to release the names of the dead, saying some of their parents were yet to be reached.
“The bodies of the three first years and one second year student have been retrieved from the river and taken to Marimanti Sub County Hospital mortuary,” said Mr Rutto.
Appease the spirits
Mr James Mutegi, 80, a local, regretted the deaths even as he noted that many people, most of them strangers, have died at the waterfall.
Locals, he said, are aware of the myth associated with the waterfall and always keep off the place out of fear.
“Unfortunately, they were not aware of the dangers associated with the waterfall and did not consult with the locals who could have warned them against swimming there,” said Mr Mutegi.
Mr Bernard Mati, 75, also a resident said many locals and livestock have died at the waterfall in the past.
"I can remember deaths of about six people and several livestock at the waterfall in the past although I can't recall the year the last incident happened. They happened far between," said Mr Mati.
Mr Mutegi said when there are calamities such as drought or disease outbreaks, elders sacrifice a goat and sprinkle blood at the waterfall to seek the intervention of spirits and ancestors.
Following the incident, the old man said, elders will be forced to sacrifice a goat at the waterfall to appease the spirits that could have been disappointed by the “disturbance”.
Local divers search for bodies of four Tharaka University College students who drowned in River Kathita in Tharaka Nithi County on Saturday evening while swimming.
However, Mr Jacob Murithi, a professional diver and water pool attendant at Marimanti Home Lodge Resort in Tharaka, dismissed the spirits-and-ancestors theory, saying the students were overpowered by water currents.
He said the river is deep at the waterfall and the swimmers could have been sucked into the waterfall’s whirlpool.
At a waterfall, Mr Murithi said, there is a large amount of gravitational potential energy which causes water to vertically erode the softer rock located beneath the harder rock at the top of the waterfall hence the steep depth.
He added that the circular water current is usually very strong underneath the waterfall— the reason it is hard to swim out once one has been sucked in.
Tharaka University College Principal Peter Muriungi said the students had been warned against swimming in the rivers after another first year student died in the same river in 2019.
He added that the institution is in the process of constructing a swimming pool for the students to avoid similar tragedies in the future.
“It’s very unfortunate to lose students through death and I still appeal to them to avoid swimming in rivers and wait until the swimming pool is ready for use,” said Prof Muriungi. BY DAILY NATION
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