The slain Multimedia University student, Slivia Kemunto, was laid to rest at her Chironge home in Nyaribari Masaba Constituency in Kisii County.
Thousands of mourners, including different leaders, condemned the heinous killing and called for justice for the murdered youth and her family.
Among the mourners were Kisii County Women Representative Doris Aburi, her Nyamira County Counterpart Jerusah Momanyi and Nyabururu National School Chief Principal Joyce Orioki.
The Woman MP Doris Aburi said she had presented her argument on the need for security status in universities and hoped the matter would be deliberated by the legislators and offer a long-lasting solution for the chronic impunity of femicide in the country.
Nyabururu Girls’ National School Chief Principal Joyce Orioki led the staff and former students, most of them from the class of 2024, to pay their final respects to departed students and colleagues.
Mrs Orioki described the deceased as a vivacious and brilliant student who dreamed of accomplishing greater scholarly pursuits.
She said Sylvia was among the top students who scored an A in the 2024 KCSE examinations, among more than 700 students who scored C+ grades or above, enabling them to gain direct entry to the University.
The Principal wondered how the slain girl could end up in the hands of her assailant, who cut her life short because she believed the school, whose pillars are anchored in strong Catholic beliefs, gives enough guidance, counselling and life skills to their learners as they graduate to the outside world.
“In our school, we don’t teach knowledge alone to our learners; we equip them with basic survival skills wrapped in religious fundamentals to cushion them from the ever-tempting perilous world, ” she said.
The Principal asked parents to monitor their children when they are out and inside their homes by making frequent calls and even sending short messages (SMS) through the phone for encouragement and continuous family bonding. The advancement of modern communication technology has made this possible.
“Our children look big in body as they join University, but I want to remind parents that they still need their care and guidance for their emotional, economic, and social development,” she said.
She prayed for the family to recover from the shock soon and continue with their lives by depending on God, who will comfort them.
When the coffin carrying the body of the deceased, a first-year student of Journalism at Multimedia University, was being lowered into the grave, wails and screams tore the air as close family members drew soil first into the grave in contravention of the tradition.
The wails were subsidised by Christian choirs that bid the deceased goodbye as she rested in her final resting place, covered with fresh soil that formed a monumental mound, the fresh grave in the compound.
By Enock Okong’o
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