Police probe how journalist fell into river and drowned

Nanyuki police are seeking to establish the circumstances surrounding the death of a journalist, Becky Gitu, whose body was retrieved from River Nanyuki on Tuesday. The deceased was the wife of former People Daily sports sub-editor Milton Nyakundi.

According to Daily Nation, Gitu was in the company of her friends when she allegedly slipped and fell into the river on Monday night.

The two friends did not report the incident immediately, but instead filed a missing person report the following day, the paper quotes Laikipia County Police Commander Simon Kipkeu as stating.

An investigation officer, however, gave a conflicting report, saying the two women reported the incident the same night only that police could not launch a rescue operation because it was dark yet the station is about 100 metres from the bridge.

Daily Nation says Kipkeu did not respond to calls seeking to clarify the conflicting reports.

The body was retrieved about 200 metres from where she fell off. Her relatives viewed the body at the Nanyuki Referral Hospital Mortuary on Wednesday and visited the death scene.

The police have recorded statements of the two women who were with the journalist as investigations continue.

Fellow journalist took to social media to condole Nyakundi on Wednesday.