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Grief engulfed Kapsait area in Elgeyo Marakwet county at the weekend during the burial of Mercy Jerono, a first-year Daystar University student who was found dead in unclear circumstances, only four days after admission.

Jerono,18, who was pursuing a course in Nursing was found dead inside a hostel last week with stab wounds.

Her parents and relatives are yet to come to terms with the demise of their loved one and called for through probe to establish the circumstances surrounding her death.

According to Jerono’s father Bowen Kanda, on the fateful day, his daughter had called her mother and said she would be home that evening because there was a party for first years happening at the school that she did not want to attend.

“She however called later saying that she had decided to attend the party because she could not get transport home,” Kanda said during the emotional send-off.

Kanda said he received a phone call at 2am from the school asking him to rush to the institution immediately, and later directed to Shalom Hospital in Kitengela, Kajiado county where he established that his daughter had died.

“This is very devastating to us as a family. I only admitted her at the University on 4th September, and hardly four days passed before she was found dead,” said a sad Kanda.

He said the hostel that her body was found in was not the one he had paid for, adding that the hostel does not even have CCTV cameras which could have tracked the movement of his daughter on the fateful night.

Security agencies

Local leaders who attended the burial led by Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wisley Rotich and County Woman Representative Caroline Ng’elechei raised concern over the upsurge of student deaths in institutions of higher learning in the country and called for a through probe.

“ The security agencies should ensure that the perpetrators of this heinous act are bought to book within the shortest time possible,” said Rotich.

The leaders called on Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu to enforce safety measures in all learning institutions including installation of 24-hour CCTV surveillance cameras to secure learners.

“May the Lord give the family strength and fortitude to overcome the loss of their daughter,” said Rotich.
The family has questioned the circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death, barely a week after admission.

A post-mortem examination conducted on the late Jerono was inconclusive, leaving the family with more questions than answers.

According to the family, the post-mortem report is not conclusive.