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There was joy yesterday after the remains of 25-year-old Tom Okwach, who died in a goldmine in Bondo sub-county seven months ago, were finally retrieved.

Okwach perished when Abimbo gold mine collapsed last December. But now the family can breathe easy after his body was recovered yesterday morning.

The remains were discovered by 15 artisanal gold miners who had put up a spirited search for Okwach’s body months after the government stopped retrieval operations in February this year.

Efforts by the artisans to retrieve the body paid off after over six months.

But the remains will only be ascertained to be those of Tom Okwach after a comprehensive DNA analysis, although family members believe they are of their kin.

Family members, led by the deceased’s wife Jackline Okwach, said they have no doubt the remains are those of Okwach.

Personal effects retrieved

Jackline said the gold miners also retrieved a mobile phone and a motorcycle key — which are believed to belong to her husband, a clear indication that those were his remains.

“Beside the skeleton were Okwach’s motorcycle key and mobile phone, clear evidence that these are his remains,” she said.

The retrieval is a reprieve to the deceased’s family that has gone through six months of agony following the goldmine tragedy last year, in which one person died and six others were injured.

The six survivors were rescued alive from the mine.

Okwach and his colleagues were buried alive on December 2, last year, when the shaft of the mine caved in, trapping them several feet underneath.

Long after the tragedy, the distressed family has been hoping to retrieve the body of their kin.

“I am now relieved and I want to thank the multi-stakeholders who joined the excavation expeditions. It has not been easy for the family. We have camped at the site for months, but are now happy that the bones of my husband have finally been retrieved. They’ll be buried beside his house,” said Jackline.

This message was echoed by Okwach’s mother, Ocholla, amid sobs: “I feel relieved following the retrieval of my son’s remains. He has been sending me several dreams that he was down the shaft and was opposed to the ceremonial burial of banana stems, as many people suggested. I knew all along his body would be retrieved,” said Ocholla. She added that they were waiting for police to collect the bones and give them the way forward.

Most of yesterday, gold miners were in  the mine shaft waiting for police officers. The remains were wrapped in a bag ready for DNA analysis.

Meanwhile, survivors vividly remembered how they miraculously escaped death that tragic day. They asked the government to offer alternative jobs to young people to dissuade them from venturing into lucrative but risky goldmine business.

Plea for better jobs

Phillip Ogutu, a survivor of the Abimbo tragedy, urged the government to offer them jobs in place of the dangerous mines.

“If the government gives us jobs to sustain us, so be it,” said Ogutu, adding that he had been working at the mine for three days until December 2 when he saw the walls of a section of the shaft cave in.

Ogutu remembered how they miraculously escaped.

“I am overjoyed and thankful to God. We could have died but we are alive,” he said.

Ogutu recalled that they had no food, but merely survived on salty water until they were rescued.

Insect time-keepers

Another survivor, Jacob Onyango, narrated how they depended on crickets to guess what the time was. “There were many crickets in the cave. They would chirp mostly in the mornings. We depended on them to approximate the time,” he said.

“We all competed for oxygen in that cave. We were lucky there was a pipe that conveyed some air to us. It is the same pipe that we depended on to communicate with the rescuers,” he added.

The good news to Okwach’s family comes only a day after Ongoro mine shaft in Barding caved in, killing one and injuring three artisans.

According to Siaya deputy OCPD, Charles Odhiambo, the deceased was on a daily mining expedition when a loose stone in the shaft fell and hit him.

“It’s because of the explosives used in the mine. It broke some stones but left one hanging,” said Odhiambo, adding that the rock killed the miner on the spot. His colleagues were injured while struggling to get out,” said Odhiambo.

He added that three of the artisans are undergoing treatment at Siaya county referral hospital. One was treated and discharged.

The body of the deceased was collected by police and moved to Siaya referral hospital mortuary.