Losing a child is one of the most painful experiences for any parent, but getting the news about the death of your beloved daughter on TV is almost unbearable. That was the situation that Isaiah Esibai had to go through after her daughter was involved in the Gikomba fire tragedy.
It was on Thursday night when he was watching the news just like any other day. The names of the Gikomba fire victims were being displayed on TV and one name caught his attention. He drew closer and confirmed that indeed it was the name he knew.
Esibai got separated with his wife Beatrice Kaveke in 2015 in bad terms. The wife went to Nairobi where she was living with her two daughters before the tragedy. The younger one died in the fire while the older one is in hospital nursing injuries.
He looked a very devasted man during the bodies identification process on Monday that took place in Chiromo. Families from both sides could not come to an agreement about the burial site for the child cauding the Red Cross members to separate them.
Concerning the matter he said,
“Kama ni kuzika, sisi mila yetu hairuhusu mtoto azikwe nje na baba yake yuko. Lakini mimi siwezi anza kung’ang’ania mwili”
Chief director of Disaster Risk Management Pius Masai said that both families had the freedom to view the body but the issue of burial site would be treated as an internal matter that should be resolved at a family level.
