Residents of Kisii County have decried the death of a Form One school student who reportedly committed suicide because of alleged mistreatment from the Assistant Chief of Amabuko Sub-location in Nyaribari Chache Constituency.
The late Joyce Bonareri Otuke was a Form One student at Nyarieko Secondary School.
According to ther reports, before the girl took the poison, she left a note behind addressed to the area Assistant Chief Simon Osano telling him to take care of her child.
“Dear area chief Simon Osano, I have decided to follow Jesus. Kwa hayo yote uliyenitendea (for all you have done to me) take care of my child,” reads part of the letter.
The mother to the deceased, who was a teen mother drank cattle spray and bid her goodbye as she ran to the river because of pains in the stomach caused by the poison she drank.
The villagers of Ribate has claimed that a rift has emerged among a group of elders over the incident.
One group has called for independent investigation by the police to implicate the chief while the other group is protecting him saying that he was administering his rightful duties and he did not cause the death of the girl.
Home of the late Form One Girl Joyce Otuke at Riribe village in Amabuko Sub-location. Photo by Enock Okong’oThe deceased claimed in her letter that the chief caned her too much as he asked her why she did not go to school.
Her father, who identified himself as Otuke, wondered why the chief molested his daughter and provoked her to commit suicide instead of assisting her to get learning materials to enable her go back to school and asked the police to probe the chief.
“Yes I am poor as you see even from this old house but do I deserve such humiliation from my own Chief who is supposed to protect me please let justice prevail,” he cried.
Some villagers told Education News Team that the Chief had sired the child with the minor and was beating and threatening her from revealing the secret to the parents and the public.
When the Chief was contacted, he denied the accusations but sent condolences to the bereaved family.
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“I am a church elder and was crowned Assistant Chief one month ago. I have the interest of my people at heart and there is no way I could commit such offences to the girl from her poor background. God will intervene and truth will be known,” he said.
He appealed to the public to denounce some of the information circulating on social media implicating him in immorality.
Kisii County Police Commander Charles Keses confirmed the death saying that the body was taken to Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary for postmortem and investigation.
In another incident, a retired female teacher was hacked to death at Matongo village in Kiogoro Location of Kisii Central Sub-county.
Dorice Monda, met her death on Saturday evening as she left her shop keeping business at Kiogoro market.
According to her husband David Ondieki, he sent their younger son to pick the wife from the shop using their pickup.
When they were on the way home, they were ambushed by unknown people who were armed with machetes and crude weapons then hacked them several times and left them on the road for death.
“When I rushed there, I found a pool of blood flowing from the two bodies and I collapsed,” said the husband.
The police from Kiogoro took the bodies to Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital where the mother was pronounced dead as the wounded son was admitted for treatment.
Kiogoro Ward MCA Walter Obare blamed the police of Kiogoro for their reluctance to attend to the distress calls promptly whenever danger arose and asked for their immediate transfer.
Kisii County Police boss Charles Keses confirmed the death of the teacher.
“We have not established the motive behind the killing but our officers are going on with investigation,” he said.
He appealed to anyone with information about the cause of the death to volunteer it to his office to help them with investigation.
By Enock Okong’o
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