The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has finally recovered the body of a 35-year-old porter who went missing on 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 endeavour 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 metres 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,’’ the 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 Shipton’s camp at around 2pm after a seven-hour gruesome trek, where they realised 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 behaviour.
“I had worked with my 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 searches more than three times through possible routes with no sign of him,” said his brother who is also a mountain guide.
By Muturi Mwangi
