Tendai Muererwa
Mutare – A one year six month old boy drowned in a swimming pool at Fairfield Plot 26 in Headlands after going missing during a church gathering leaving his family and fellow congregants devastated.
The incident occurred on Sunday, August 9, 2026, after the toddler, identified as Peter Kamakanda, had reportedly gone missing from the church gathering the previous afternoon. According to information gathered by police, Peter was attending the gathering on Saturday, August 8, at around 4.30pm in the company of his mother Stella Mangwanani 20 and his father David Kamakanda 26.
During the gathering, Peter reportedly went missing prompting his mother and other church members to launch an immediate search for him. Despite the efforts the search party could not locate the toddler, forcing the family to report the matter to the police the following morning.
A missing-person report was subsequently made at ZRP Headlands at around 7.30am on Sunday. The search continued later that morning, with David and other church members combing the surrounding area in the hope of finding the missing child.
The search took a tragic turn when one of the searchers, identified as Micah Makarichi entered a pool measuring approximately 80 centimetres deep. Makarichi searched the pool and discovered the body of Peter submerged in the water before retrieving him.
Police were called to the scene and attended to the incident. Upon examination of the body, officers reportedly observed bruises around the child’s lips. The body was subsequently taken to Rusape District Mortuary pending a post-mortem examination to establish the exact cause of death.
Manicaland province acting police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka confirmed the incident and urged members of the public, particularly parents and guardians to exercise extra caution when children are around water bodies.
He said young children require constant supervision as they can quickly wander away from adults and find themselves in dangerous situations. Assistant Inspector Chinyoka also encouraged members of the public to promptly report missing persons to the police so that searches can be initiated as early as possible.
The tragic death has left the Kamakanda family and the church community mourning the loss of the young child, whose disappearance had initially sparked a desperate search before his body was discovered the following day.
Police investigations into the circumstances surrounding the drowning are continuing.
