By M, KNA
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has finally recovered the body of a 35-year-old porter who went missing in Mt. Kenya while on a climbing expedition last year.
Samuel Macharia went missing on December 23. He was in company of four other guides who accompanied two Japanese tourists in the climbing endeavor of conquering the second highest mountain in Africa.
In a press statement to the newsroom on Saturday, KWS said that the body of the porter was discovered at Hinde valley, at an altitude of approximately 4,300 meters above sea level.
“KWS mounted an intensive, multi-agency day search and rescue operation, deploying
experienced rangers and the mountain search and rescue teams, supported by aerial
surveillance and extensive ground operations. The search covered Shipton Camp,
Austrian Hut, Mackinder’s Valley, Sendeyo, Hinde Valley, Mintos, the Timau Route, and
surrounding areas, despite extreme weather conditions, rugged terrain, and poor visibility,” said KWS.
The coordinated operation was carried out in collaboration with police, family of the deceased and other experienced mountain guides. “KWS worked in close coordination with the National Police Service and was assisted by mountain guides and porters, including family members and members of the local mountain community. Their courage, resilience, and solidarity were instrumental in the search efforts,’’ KWS statement read in part.
Condoling with the family, KWS said that it was committed to safeguarding lives within Kenya’s protected mountain landscapes and continues to strengthen mountain safety, emergency
preparedness, and coordinated emergency response mechanisms.
According to the deceased’s elder brother Daniel Kagwaini who was part of the group, they had departed Nanyuki in the morning via Sirimon route and arrived at Shiptons camp at around 2pm after seven-hour gruesome trek, where they realized Macharia who was assigned the role of carrying foodstuffs was missing.
Kagwaini said that his brother was a veteran mountain guide with over 15 years of experience in navigating the treacherous terrain of Mt. Kenya in guiding visitors. On that day, his brother notes, he showed no sign of illness or unusual behavior.
“I had worked with by brother for years and we can’t really tell what happened, he vanished under my watch, I retraced our steps and found nothing. I have done frantic search for more than three times through possible route with no sign of him,” said his brother who is also a mountain guide.