By Hilton Mwabili
The Mystery surrounding the death of a 21-year-old Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidate in a Kilifi school, who allegedly committed suicide in the school compound deepened after postmortem report, indicated that she died of suffocation.
Family of the deceased are now demanding further investigation by the directorate of criminal investigation to unravel the mystery surrounding their kin’s death.
An autopsy performed on the body at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH) established that the deceased died as a result of “suffocation due to compression of the trachea.”
However, the bereaved family finds the report unconvincing and suspect foul play.
Body of the deceased Saumu Anderson Kazungu who was a form four student at Ganze Girls secondary, was found behind the dormitory, with a bed sheet hanging from a metallic post tied around her neck in the wee hours of October 15.
According to the family and civil society organizations, the body was discovered by fellow students in a kneeling posture, a situation that has continued to elicit more questions than answers, amidst growing concerns that there could be an extra hand involved.
The deceased’s father Anderson Kazungu Kadzoma was in tears as he narrated how he learnt of the tragic news of his daughter’s demise on the unforgettable morning of October 15.
“The principal called and told me to go to the school urgently. I asked who she was and said she was the principal of Ganze girls. She told me to get a boda boda immediately and hung up.
“Shortly afterwards she called again and asked me where I was and I told her I was still at home but she insisted there was an emergency and I was needed at school. When I asked what the emergency was, she told me my daughter Saumu had committed suicide,” explained Kadzoma.
He would then call a relative and they organized for transport and rushed to the school as asked.
“When we arrived at the school compound we were expecting to find the body dangling from somewhere but to our surprise, we were shown the body kneeling on the ground from a very low height,” Kadzoma said, adding that the police were in a hurry to remove the body.
His brother Kalume Nzai said the ground where the body was kneeling was undisturbed and showed no signs of struggle.
According to Nzai, everyone at the school remained mum and was unwilling to divulge information about the incident.
The family has questioned how the incident could have happened in the school’s compound which is under watchful eyes of security guards, besides, the school matron, nurse and the rest of the students in the dormitory.
“We need a serious probe into this issue. Yes she has died of suffocation but who caused it. Did she really commit suicide? I can’t believe I lost my daughter just like that. I used a lot of resources to educate her to that level and then this happens. We need more conclusive answers,” said Kadzoma.
Coast human rights lobby groups -Kilifi Social Justice Center and Haki Africa- called for intervention from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and other relevant bodies.
“We are demanding justice on behalf of the family. We want the DCI to do a thorough investigation to establish what led to the death of Saumu.
The pathologist has told us that she died of suffocation but we as a social justice center demand to know the truth about the incident.
Did she commit suicide or some else was involved? Because the position she was found was totally inconsistent with suicide,” said Kilifi social justice center rapid response officer Eric Mgoja.
