Mentally ill man found alive 13 days after falling into 60ft pit

Mentally ill man found alive 13 days after falling into 60ft pit

- Royford Mugambi who is said to be of unsound mind disappeared on May 22 only to be rescued from the pit

- His family members desperately combed the area for him after his disappearance and were losing hope

- According to his elder brother, they had been searching for him in various places including at the mortuary

- The 42-year-old was miraculously discovered by a neighbour who was working near the pit dug by his father many years ago.

- He revealed that he heard someone calling and when he followed the direction where the voice was coming from, he was led to the pit

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A mentally challenged man from Gatituni village in Chuka, Tharaka-Nithi county, shocked many residents after coming out of a 60-foot well alive after 13 days without food.

The 42-year-old identified as Royford Mugambi was retrieved from the well on the evening of Wednesday, June 3.

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Tharaka Nithi: Mentally ill man found alive 13 days after falling into 60ft pit
A neighbour was working in a farm near the well when he heard someone calling. Photo: Teddy Eugene.
Source: UGC

According to a report by The Standard, Royford disappeared on the morning of May 22, 2020, while with his elderly mother who lives with him.

Royford’s elder brother, Henry Gitonga, said they had been searching for him since his disappearance; they even looked for him at the Chuka County Referral Hospital mortuary.

The family then reported his disappearance to the administration and at Chuka Police Station and they were almost losing hope of tracing him when he was discovered.

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Tharaka Nithi: Mentally ill man found alive 13 days after falling into 60ft pit
The 42- year-old identified as Royford Mugambi was retrieved from the well on the evening of Wednesday, June 3. Photo: Teddy Eugene.
Source: UGC

According to Gitonga, a neighbour, John Mwenda, was working in a farm near the well when he heard someone calling and thought it was his father who was also working a few meters away.

But when he responded, his father said he had not called him.

Mwenda continued with his work but he heard the voice again. This time, the person called him by his name.

When he trailed the direction of the voice, he noticed that the person was calling from the well and the soft voice sounded familiar; it was that of Royford.

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Tharaka Nithi: Mentally ill man found alive 13 days after falling into 60ft pit
Royford Mugambi disappeared on the morning of May 22, 2020 while with his elderly mother who lives with him. Photo: Teddy Eugene.
Source: UGC

He went close to the well and when he called out, Mugambi responded and asked for some water.

“After confirming that it was Mugambi who had disappeared for some days, Mwenda rushed and informed his father before proceeding to our home and broke the shocking news,” said Gitonga.

They all ran to the well, which had been dug many years back by the owner of the farm who was looking for water, and confirmed that it was his brother.

Tharaka Nithi: Mentally ill man found alive 13 days after falling into 60ft pit
The family ran to the well, which had been dug many years back by the owner of the farm and confirmed that it was his brother. Photo: Teddy Eugene.
Source: UGC

He hurriedly looked for a ladder, tied it with a rope and dropped it to the well. They asked Royford to hold firm to the ladder as they pulled him out.

The task was, however, not easy as they struggled to remove him from the well because he was very weak, making it difficult for him to hold onto the ladder.

“His body was pale, completely emaciated and totally confused when he came out,” he said.
Tharaka Nithi: Mentally ill man found alive 13 days after falling into 60ft pit
The villagers said they suspected the man had been taking some water since when he came out his clothes were wet, Photo: Teddy Eugene.
Source: UGC

The family called a doctor from Chuka County Referral Hospital who advised them to give him glucose solution and some milk for a few days before introducing him to porridge and later soft food.

The villagers said they suspected the man had been taking some water because when he came out his clothes were wet, suggesting that the well had some water.

They termed the incident as a miracle, saying they would hold a thanksgiving ceremony later.

Meanwhile, a young Ghanaian pupil called Eva has turned into a hawker because of the closedown of schools in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 outbreak around the country.

The news was unveiled by the popular Teacher_Ewuraama on Instagram who spotted the young girl selling eggs, recognized her as one of her students and moved closer to enquire the reason behind her dealings.

According to the 11-year-old Eva, since there was no school, her mother had to ask her to sell in order to bring home some extra income that would help care for the family.

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