A man has this morning been electrocuted to death in Ganjoni area, Mombasa.
Witnesses reported that the man, like the rest of the pedestrians using the route, was bypassing a section where rainwater had pooled in the middle of the road and in the process he accidentally clutched a live electric wire when the unfortunate incident happened.
"I was shocked to see a man drop on the ground. At first, we thought he had collapsed for some reasons or something… But immediately we realized that there is an electric fence around a CMC Motors' garden and it's when we realised that he had been electrocuted," explained a rider who witnessed the incident.
Mombasa Urban Sub-County Police Commander Eliud Monari said the deceased identified as George Odhiambo Otieno died on the spot.
"Unfortunately it appears he touched the wire fencing the CMC Motors premises and it appears it was connected to electricity at the time and he died on the spot," Monari said while confirming the 7.30 am incident.
Police visited the scene shortly afterwards and picked the body and took it to Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH) mortuary "for preservation and identification awaiting postmortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death."
According to the Commander, for now, police are treating the incident as an "unfortunate accident" but further said it is the responsibility of Kenya Power Company to put up visible warning signs and posters in both English and Kiswahili to caution against live wires.
"Much as members of the public should learn to keep off from such dangerous situations involving electricity especially during rainy seasons, the people responsible must also not tire from putting warning signs to caution members of the public. And the signs must be in both English and Kiswahili where people can read and understand, " Monari said.
