Bodies of the two boys who went missing on Saturday in Ngoirobi village, Limuru, were found Sunday afternoon in a water pan.
Kelvin Kamau, a Standard 7 pupil at Thigio Primary School, and Martin Njehu, a Standard 5 pupil at Kiawanda Primary School, were grazing sheep but did not return home in the evening.
"These boys were friends. They normally meet while grazing at the roadside and play a lot. Each boy normally has his parents' flock of sheep," said Ken Kamau, a neighbour.
A sombre mood engulfed the village in Ndeiya ward as residents came to terms with the deaths. Ngoirobi chief Eric Gitau said the boys' parents reported to him that they did not return home from the grazing field.
"Sheep and goats know their homes. They came by themselves and they were locked in their sheds. Their [the boys'] parents searched for them the whole night but they did not see them," he said.
As search went on, some clothes were spotted near a water pan, one of those dug by the National Irrigation Board on private land to help residents save rainwater for farming.
Villagers turned to the pan where they found the bodies. The owner of the farm was not at home.
Area MP Peter Mwathi visited the families and passed his condolences. Mwathi called for prayers saying that early this month, two other boys drowned in Manguo swamp.
The legislator also urged parents to advise their children, especially boys, not to "explore" water sources.
"It is so sad to lose children at this particular time when we are fighting to eliminate the coronavirus. All our children are at home, they need our attention and care, but we have to move around and look for their food," Mwathi said.
Area children’s officer Mary Muthumbi urged farmers who use the pans to fence them to keep away people and wild animals and avert deaths.
“We have noticed that some pans are not fenced,” she said at the scene.
Police officers took the bodies to Uplands Funeral Home.