A seven-year-old boy, only identified as Kwizera, on Sunday afternoon drowned in the Nyabugogo stream in Kigali City as he swam with his friends. This is the same stream that claimed lives during a recent downpour where a car was swept away with its passengers, killing them all.According to the people who work around that area, the stream has claimed many lives, adding that some of the victims disappear without a trace.Albert Gakara, the Police Spokesperson of the Central Region, said that the search is still on to find the boy, adding that investigations are also still on to ascertain what exactly happened.Gakara called on parents and residents to be vigilant with their children’s safety.Edison Mugisha, who works at the public toilet near the stream, said there have been a number of such cases of people losing their lives, especially during heavy rain.“We have even heard some cases of people who drown and disappear completely. We can’t always be there watching whether children are playing in the stream. Something should be done about this place before more lives are lost,” Mugisha said.Marie Chantal Ikizanye, a KCC cleaner based in Nyabugogo, said leaders always come to that place but never do anything about it although residents have persistently raised the concern.She also said that they mostly see local authorities after disaster, but hardly see any come over before to find a solution to the stream that has become a black spot.
