A seven-year-old boy drowned in a swimming pool at a hotel in Kisumu over the weekend, his father said, as the facility’s management declined to comment on the incident.
The boy, identified by his father as Bradley Otieno, was at Mill View Hotel on Saturday for a birthday party when he drowned, according to his father, Justin Odongo.
Odongo said he was informed several hours after the incident that his son had drowned.
“When I arrived at the hotel, I found my son being put into a taxi,” Odongo said.
He said he abandoned his car and boarded the taxi, which took them to Aga Khan Hospital, where doctors later pronounced the boy dead.
Odongo said he was concerned that the hotel management had not provided an explanation of what happened or why he was informed several hours after the incident.
He also said the swimming pool attendant who was on duty at the time of the incident could not be traced.
Odongo said he later took his son’s body to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital funeral home.
“I cannot just bury my son that way, as if he was a nobody,” Odongo said, demanding that the circumstances surrounding his son’s death be investigated.
A family friend, Ben Nyangwara, who has been seeking answers from the hotel, criticised the management for what he described as a lack of cooperation.
Nyangwara called for the release of CCTV footage from the hotel and details of what happened before the boy drowned.
Hotel management said the child died after falling into a hotel swimming pool in Kisumu on Saturday.
Acording to a statement issued by the hotel on Sunday, the incident occurred around lunchtime, where a group had gathered for a children’s birthday celebration, the hotel said.
A waiter alerted hotel management after noticing that the child had fallen into the pool and appeared to have swallowed water.
By the time management reached the pool area, a hotel pool attendant had rescued the child and was administering first aid, according to the statement.
Members of the group told hotel management that the child had been brought to the hotel by his father, who had later left.
They said they did not have contact details for the child’s parents. The hotel said those accounts were provided by witnesses and had not been independently verified.
The hotel arranged a taxi to take the child to Aga Khan Hospital, accompanied by the pool attendant and two other members of staff.
Management said it was preparing to follow them to the hospital when it was informed that the child had died.
The hotel said it had reported the incident to Kisumu Central Police Station and was cooperating with police and other investigative authorities.
“The hotel is deeply saddened by this tragic loss,” management said, adding that its thoughts were with the child’s family and others affected by the incident.
The circumstances surrounding the child’s death remain under official investigation, and would not speculate on matters that had not been established by authorities.
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