One dead, KCSE exam delayed as heavy rains pound Kitui

Torrential rains that pounded various parts of Kitui county throughout Thursday night up to mid-morning on Friday have claimed the lives of a female farmer.

At the same time, the rains rendered several all-weather roads in Kitui County impassable affecting the delivery of the practical biology KCSE exam papers to Mutitu Boys Secondary School in Kitui East by road impossible.

Purity Kiema, assistant chief for the Katalwa area in Kitui Rural sub-county where the woman was washed away by raging floods, said she was attempting to access her farm from Kisasi on a motorbike when tragedy struck.

“The woman had taken a boda boda to go to her farm a few kilometres from her home. When they reached the Katalwa drift across the Mwiwe river they attempted to cross but the raging water swept the motorbike away,” said Kiema,

She added that although the boda boda rider managed to swim to safety, his pillion passenger got stuck in the waters and drowned. She added that the motorbike was buried in the sand.

Members of the public managed to retrieve the body of the woman which was later taken by the police to the Kitui Level IV hospital morgue for preservation.

On the other hand, the Kitui County director of education, Khalif Isaak, said the Mutitu Boys Secondary School KCSE candidates were unable to do their practical biology paper exam on schedule as the school could not be accessed by road due to heavy rains.

“It rained heavily in many areas of Kitui county leaving rivers swollen. The examination vehicles could not access the school. We had to request a chopper from KNEC headquarters to deliver the examination papers,” Isaak told the media on the phone.

The County director said that save for the hitch that was experienced in Mutitu Boys Secondary School, examination papers were delivered to all other examination centres in time.