A dark cloud yesterday fell over Mbenderana Village in the area of Traditional Authority Kasisi in Chikwawa following the death of a 12-year-old who drowned in a canal.

Chikwawa Police Public Relations Officer Foster Benjamin confirmed of the development in a report made available to faceofmalawi and identified the deceased as Akidu Mwenda.

According to Benjamin, the boy, Akidu Mwenda, drowned while swimming within a canal at Kasinthula.

Akidu, who was a Standard 6 pupil at Mitole Primary School, traveled to the canal from Chikwawa Boma and was accompanied by a friend.

While swimming, as fate would have it, he ended up drowning.

An autopsy at Chikwawa District Hospital indicated that the death was due to drowning.

Meanwhile, police in the district are urging parents and guardians to discourage their children and wards from swimming to avoid similar incidents.