Divers from the National Disaster Operations Centre and the Kenya Navy Disaster Response Unit retrieved the body of a 20-year-old man in Bathi dam in Kimende on Friday afternoon.
The body of Samwel Karanja had been in the water for three days, after drowning in the man-made dam during a swimming expedition with two of his friends.
According to senior superintendent George Onyango who led the operation, the divers found the body about 30 metres below the water surface, after Kenya Navy divers inspected the depth on the dam.
Onyango said the body had been trapped inside a cleavage in the dam where two rivers enter the dam.
Karanja’s grandfather, Moses Thuo and uncle Joseph Nene, said he was preparing to join Kenyatta University, where he had been admitted to study for a degree in environmental studies.
“He was enrolled for a degree course in environmental studies at Kenyatta University, and was just waiting to return the papers and start his studies,” said Thuo.
There was sadness at the dam, with villagers milling around as the young man's body was being recovered.
The grandfather also said the man-made dam was an environmental hazard and a danger to children and adults living in the area.
He said there was an urgent need for the government to put up a perimeter fence around it.
The body was taken to Kiambu district hospital mortuary.