Family's agony as policeman swept by floods not declared dead a year on

It is about one year and a half since a police officer attached to Kamukunji Police Station in Nairobi was swept away by floods.

Constable David Chesire slipped into an uncovered sewer line and is said to have been swept away by floods on March 24, 2024.

It was raining heavily on the fateful day when the constable noticed a mother and four children struggling to wade through the raging waters.

Instinctively, the officer swung into action to assist the woman and children to safety. After successfully completing his mission, Chesire disappeared from the face of the earth.

His body has never been retrieved to date as family continues holding onto hope. Witnesses say the officer would be alive today if the manhole was covered.

His rifle, an AK 47 with 30 rounds of bullets, is also believed to have been also swept away.

Since then, his family has lived in  agony and unable to move on as his children keep asking about his whereabouts.

His sister Purity Chesire says the government went mute on their kin’s disappearance.

“We have never received any communication from the government on the way forward. We were only told that it is a rule to wait for seven years, even burial plans stopped because we have no death certificate,” Purity told The Standard.

“Contrary to our expectation that the wife ought to have been benefiting from his pay, his salary was stopped almost immediately. She is struggling to raise the kids alone, sometime she survives on selling some stuff at the nearby market,” the sister says.

The officer left behind two children aged 10 and six whose lives now depend on the mother as they wait for the conclusion of the matter

National Police Service spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga, however, says that while the seven-year rule stands, Chesire’s case was exceptional.

Muchiri said under some instances like when an officer dies in war, fires and other disasters, his death can be confirmed immediately, paving way for the process of compensation.

“In Chesire’s, the process has already started and the lead officer is already working on the case. The courts will declare him dead based on the evidence of what happened. In his case, he was swept away by the floods,” Muchiri said.

The spokesperson said once the court issues the directive, the next step is to ensure that Chesire’s family gets the compensation. He said the matter is following a legal process.