A four-year-old girl drowned in Lake Sake in Ngoma District on August 7 afternoon, Rwanda National Police (RNP) spokesperson for Eastern Province SSP Hamdun Twizeyimana has said. The child, identified as Phiona Igihozo, drowned at about 3 p.m. in Umuka Village, Ihanika Cell, Jarama Sector, according to information shared by RNP. Twizeyimana said Igihozo had gone to the lake with three other children: Izakunda Evariste, 5, Mutima Baraka, 6, and Emmanuel Twizeyumukiza, 6, without their parents’ knowledge. The three children reportedly informed their parents after Igihozo fell into the water, prompting authorities to respond to the incident, the police spokesperson said. Police and Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) officers visited the scene and found the child already dead, with no visible injuries, he added. Twizeyimana said the family did not suspect any criminal involvement in the child’s death and requested that the body be released for burial. The body was subsequently released to the family for burial. Police urged parents to take responsibility and warned about the danger children face when they approach lakes and other open water sources without adult supervision.
