Who or what killed Emmanuel Kirimi? Details surrounding the death of this young life remain unclear till now. He was a newly admitted Form One student at Kilungu Boys High School in Kitui.
His family who live in Kitengela are seeking justice for their son who was allegedly admitted to the hospital 10 days after joining high school. The boy succumbed on January 25 to what the school termed a ‘stomach-related illness’.
“The student requested one of his classmates to escort him to the toilets and his condition suddenly worsened. He became unconscious and was rushed to a nearby hospital by 2 teachers,” said the school principal, adding that the boy was pronounced dead on arrival.
However, the boy’s family suspects foul play in the story narration given that their son was in good health on admission day. They accuse the school administration of covering details, stating that Emmanuel succumbed to excessive bullying at school.
According to Joshua Kaimenyi, Emmanuel’s father, he received an urgent call informing him that the boy had suddenly fallen ill and was needed at the school. He travelled from Isinya, Kajiado and arrived in Kilungu at 6 pm, when the news was broken to him.
“I am a pastor and I was ministering at Isinya when I received a phone call from the school principal, Mr. Geoffrey Muema. He told me to rush to the school because my son had fallen sick,” he said.
Upon arriving at the school, Mr. Kaimenyi was informed of his son’s death. Overwhelmed by the sudden loss, he broke down.
“The school informed me that they had tried to save my son’s life, but their efforts were in vain. They said he had been experiencing stomach complications for days and that they had been administering oral medication at the school,” he recalled.
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The father, accompanied by Emmanuel’s aunt, went to view the body of the deceased at the morgue. It was discovered to have excessive bruises on the forehead, which did not align with the school’s ‘stomachache’ story.
Furthermore, they also discovered that Emmanuel was first taken to a private hospital where he was pronounced dead, and later on to Kilungu Public Hospital.
“All along the principal never disclosed to us that material fact, yet that private hospital – Winesa Medical Center confirmed to us that they received the body of a student from the school at 10:40 am,” said Emmanuel’s aunt.
The family is now protesting against how the school handled their son, which they believe led to his death. They question why they were not informed earlier about Kirimi’s alleged stomach problems and why the school withheld news of the private health facility.
“The conflicting stories suggest that our son died in the school under unclear circumstances and was only taken to hospital later to justify that some action was taken to save his life,” she added.
The family is even more distraught by the inconsistencies in the time frame given by the school and the two hospitals.
Since then, the body has been transferred to Chiromo mortuary where it is undergoing post-mortem results. Detectives have also launched their investigations to determine the exact cause of Emmanuel’s death.
“I am not defending the principal but the family is being unfair to the school. They should wait for the post-mortem exam to be done before rushing to accuse anyone of foul play,” said Charles Nyakundi, Makueni County Director of Education.
