A middle-aged Kisumu fisherman died as he was fishing in the high seas after a lightning strike hit their boat.
The deceased who has since been identified as Sylvester Odhiambo Obonyo is said to have been fishing at night in the company of two other fishermen when the incident happened in Lake Victoria.
Reports from the two survivors show that all the occupants of the boat were rendered unconscious following the strike.
It took them some time to regain their consciousness upon which they realized that one of them was not breathing.
The two fishermen are reported to have wound up their fishing expedition and paddled back to the shore following the mishap.
Kisumu witnessed heavy rains on Tuesday night which hampered fishing activities going on in the lake.
Lightning strikes dead Kisumu fisherman in Lake Victoria pic.twitter.com/UgjZ9mVvZO
— Nairobi News (@Nairobi_News) October 30, 2019
The residents urged both the National and County Governments to address the lightning incidents.
They said the existing lightning arrestors spread across the fishing zones were insufficient and that more should be done to make the place safe.
This comes barely a week after Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i commissioned the establishment of a Coast Guard in Lake Victoria in Homabay.
CS Matiang’i said officers drawn from the Coast Guard would be tasked with the responsibility of protecting fishermen against harassment by foreign navy officers.
The officers would also enhance rescue and search missions in the lake and ensure the safety of both travellers and fishermen in the lake.