Dare devil divers ask government to employ them

They are daring divers, unafraid of the real possibility of crashing to death in the treacherous waters of Kerio River or being mauled by hungry crocodiles.

The team of 13 is often called upon to undertake dangerous rescue and recovery operations whenever disaster strikes in Cheploch gorge on the border of Baringo and Elgeyo Marakwet counties.

They have saved lives or retrieved bodies and wreckage of vehicles. 

Last Thursday, the divers aged 18 to 27 helped retrieve the body of K24 journalist Daniel Chemjor whose car had plunged into the 20-foot, crocodile-infested  Cheploch gorge in Kerio River.

But the divers go largely unappreciated. They have no regular source of income.

"It is a risky job but we are always remembered in times of need. When things are alright, no one talks about us," group leader Philip Kemboi said on Sunday.

Waziri, as he is fondly known among the team, appealed to the national and county governments to consider hiring them for disaster response or recruiting some of the divers to the military.

On Saturday, barely 48 hours after the Cheploch recovery mission, the team traveled to Nandi county where they spent less than 30 minures to retrieve the body of 40-year-old Douglas Kipchirchir who drowned in Kipkaren River at Cheptil village.

Waziri said since 2013 they have retrieved many bodies in the Rift Valley, 15 in Uasin Gishu, eight in Nandi, three in Kericho and five in Baringo.

“We have also been invited several times to join national experts on various recovery missions in Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu,” he said.

Last week, they were called to recover the body of a child who drowned in the overflowing River Sossiani in Uasin Gishu county.

"We already have sufficient skills and a half of my team are learned people who completed colleges and universities, so I am appealing to the leaders to push for their employment,” Waziri said.

He was backed by among his colleagues Andrew Kiprop, Brian Kiplagat, Nicholas Yator and Joel Biwott.

Team member Brian Kiplagat narrated how they retrieval of the body of Chemjor and the wreckage of his vehicle from Cheploch gorge last Thursday.

It was tedious exercise, he said. The divers swam in circles while shouting to scare away crocodiles.

The divers said the exercise was voluntary, so they did not demand for any payment, “but we applied all means to ensure our mission is successful,” Kiplagat said.

Their bravery and tactics amazed members of public who watched them in awe throughout the operation.

Waziri said besides the cold water, the narrow and cave-like river is covered with hard rocks making it dark and scary inside.

“So we had to dive deep inside the flowing river, about 30 metres down, surrounded and grabbed the wreckage of the vehicle carefully and fixed the chains before the crane pulled it up,” he said.

Elgeyo Markwet county commissioner Ahmed Omar lauded the divers for the extreme efforts to have the job done within a short time.

"We thank God the tedious rescue operation ended successfully by around noon courtesy of the efforts of the courageous Cheploch divers,” he said.

He was accompanied by his Baringo counterpart Henry Wafula and police commander Robinson Ndiwa.

Kiplagat said the team is only remembered during disasters. Without formal training and professional gear, the divers are sometimes exposed to traumatizing scenes like decomposing human bodies.

They appealed to the government and well wishers to provide them with professional swimming costumes to ease their work.