A 10-year-old boy drowned in the Solwezi River on November 1, 2026, while swimming with friends near Kafwaya Bridge in the Kimasala area, and his body was recovered the following morning after an overnight search was suspended for safety reasons.
Northwestern Province Police Commanding Officer Brighton Siwale confirmed the death in a statement to the media in Solwezi on November 2, identifying the boy as Ignitious Mwendelema of the Kyawama area, according to LusakaTimes.com.
How the tragedy unfolded at Kafwaya Bridge
Siwale said Ignitious was last seen at around 15:00 hours on November 1 in the company of friends heading to the river to swim. Two hours later, at about 17:00 hours, his friends raised the alarm and told his parents he had gone missing.
The boy's father, 40-year-old Muluku Mwendelema of Kimasala, formally reported the drowning to police at 18:30 hours the same day. He told officers his son's body could not be found despite efforts by the fire brigade, police officers and members of the public.
“Upon receipt of the report, the Police officers called in the fire brigade emergency response team and moved to the scene at Kafwaya bridge,” Siwale said.
The search continued along the river until darkness fell, and the mission was called off because the conditions had become too dangerous for the rescue teams. That decision, painful as it was for the family waiting on the riverbank, saved lives.
“The mission was called off for safety reasons since it was dark. However, this morning, a search continued, and the body was retrieved from the river, and physical inspection by officers revealed no injuries, hence no foul play suspected,” Siwale said.
The body of Ignitious Mwendelema has been deposited in the Solwezi General Hospital mortuary, where it awaits a postmortem examination before burial.
Second drowning hits Kasempa District
The same day police confirmed the Solwezi drowning, Siwale announced a second water tragedy in Northwestern Province. A 34-year-old man, Mulyata Lumuna of Lwamadamba area in Kasempa District, drowned in Lwamadamba stream.
Siwale said the incident happened between 10:00 hours on October 28, 2026 and 08:50 hours on October 1, 2026, in an area about four kilometers from Kasempa Police Station.
The matter was reported to Kasempa police station on October 1 at 09:20 hours by Timothy Mushili, a 52-year-old village headman of Lwamandamba. He told officers his nephew had drowned in the nearby stream and that his body had been discovered floating in the water.
“His disappearance was not reported to the Police by the relatives as he had a habitual tendency of going out to stay with friends for a few days before returning back home,” Siwale said.
Villagers who were at the stream came across the floating body and informed others, who identified it as that of Mulyata Lumuna. It was only then that the deceased's uncle took responsibility and reported the matter to the police.
“Upon receipt of the report, the officers visited the scene where they confirmed the incident, and the body was retrieved from the water with the help of the family and neighbors. Further, the officers conducted a physical inspection, and no visible marks of injuries were found,” Siwale said.
Police suspect no foul play in that case either. The body was deposited in the Mukinge Mission Hospital mortuary, also awaiting a postmortem examination and burial.
Rivers claim Zambian lives year after year
These two deaths in Northwestern Province inside a single week are part of a wider pattern that Zambian families know too well. Rivers and streams that sustain our villages and towns too often take our children when supervision slips and safety measures are absent.
Just days earlier, the Zambian Observer reported a boy who risked his life to save a friend from a crocodile attack while the two were swimming, a reminder of the dangers lurking in our waters beyond the currents themselves. Similar tragedies strike elsewhere on the continent; Newswire reported a 10-year-old who drowned in a stream in Bogawantalawa while accompanying his grandfather to cut grass.
Why our children keep drowning
Ask any parent in Solwezi, Kasempa or anywhere in Zambia and they will tell you the same thing: children swim in rivers because there is nowhere else to swim. Our towns grow, our population grows, yet swimming pools, supervised recreation spots and public safety infrastructure remain the preserve of a privileged few in the leafy suburbs of Lusaka.
Meanwhile, the police and fire brigade teams who responded at Kafwaya Bridge did their duty. They searched until dark, came back at first light and recovered the boy. That is public service worth saluting. But rescue teams cannot be on every riverbank at every hour of the day. Prevention is the job of families, schools, communities and local authorities together.
Solwezi has boomed on the back of the mining economy, and money has flowed into the province. Some of that wealth should be flowing into community facilities that give children a safe place to play, and into river safety measures at known swimming spots like Kafwaya Bridge. Our children deserve better than headlines that repeat every rainy season.
What happens next
Both bodies remain in mortuaries awaiting postmortem examinations. The Mwendelema family in Kimasala will bury their 10-year-old son, and the Lumuna family in Lwamandamba will bury their 34-year-old relative. Police in Northwestern Province have closed neither file but expect both investigations to confirm accidental drowning, as the physical inspections suggested.
Frequently asked questions
Who drowned in the Solwezi River?
Ignitious Mwendelema, a 10-year-old boy from the Kyawama area of Solwezi, drowned on November 1, 2026 while swimming with friends near Kafwaya Bridge. His body was recovered the next morning.
Was foul play suspected in either drowning?
No. Police said physical inspections of both bodies revealed no injuries, and no foul play is suspected in the Solwezi River case or the Kasempa stream case.
Where did the second drowning in Northwestern Province happen?
Mulyata Lumuna, 34, drowned in Lwamadamba stream in the Lwamandamba area of Kasempa District. His body was found floating on October 1, 2026, three days after he was last seen.