Electrician killed, student injured in electrocution at Tom Mboya University

An electrician was killed and student sustained serious injuries following an electrocution incident at Tom Mboya University in Homa Bay county.

Police said the incident was reported on March 31 after the electrician identified as Isaiah Nyasuti, 35, was hit.

According to the police, the victim was carrying out routine power checks and repairs at the Knowledge Hub’s new building when the accident occurred.

Preliminary investigations indicate that Nyasuti had climbed into the first-floor ceiling alongside a first-year student, when he came into contact with a live power circuit and was electrocuted.

Efforts to rescue him turned tragic when the student also suffered an electric shock and was violently thrown through the gypsum ceiling to the floor below. 

He sustained severe spinal injuries, officials said.

Nyasuti was rushed to St Paul’s Mission Hospital in Homa Bay town but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The injured student was taken to Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital, where he remains admitted in serious condition.

Police officers visited the scene and launched investigations into the incident.

The body of the deceased was moved to the Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary, where it awaits a postmortem examination.

Cases of electrocution have been on the rise amid campaigns to address them. 

Officials advise against rescuing such victims using bare hands. Those responding to such emergencies must wear gloves and shoes to avoid being hit by the same electricity.

Elsewhere, a suspected murder incident is under investigation after the body of a middle-aged man was discovered on a roadside in Othaya, Nyeri county.

According to police, the lifeless body of Geoffrey Gichacha, 42, was found lying on the tarmac along the Thunguri–Kiandemi road on the morning of Wednesday, April 1.

The incident was reported with preliminary information indicating that the body had been spotted earlier by members of the public.

Police confirmed that the deceased was a resident of Murang’a county.

His body was later moved to the Nyeri Provincial General Hospital (PGH) mortuary, where a postmortem examination is expected to be conducted to establish the cause of death.

Authorities have launched investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident, with no arrests reported so far.