Anxiety pile up on students at St. Peter’s Nyakemincha Secondary school after the mysterious sudden death of a student on Sunday compelled the school administration to release students on early half-term break.
The school Principal Mr. Leonard Murungi told the press yesterday that the unfortunate incident had brought a lot of restlessness in the institution, a situation which compelled him to seek for permission from the education office to release students to go home for early half-term break which was officially scheduled to be on Thursday the 26th of this month.
“I have sought permission from the Ministry of Education to allow me close the school early for half term break to allow them to relax and be relieved from the piling anxiety of students and parents due to the unfortunate incident,” said Murungi.
The Principal confirmed that the body of the deceased, a form three student in the school, was discovered by the banks of a nearby shallow river adjacent to the school on Sunday afternoon by a passerby who informed a teacher who was in the school.
“According to the deceased’s colleagues, the deceased was last seen alive on the fateful Sunday morning when they had woken up for morning personal devotion before attending the Catholic mass at the school. His lifeless body was later in the same afternoon discovered at the bank of a nearby river, around 300 meters from the school,” Murungi explained.
“Police are still investigating to try and unravel the cause behind the mysterious death of the student who does not have a history of indiscipline or ill-health for the three years he has been in the school and even has a sibling in form two,” said the school head.
This comes at a time when a number of students from the same school are hospitalized for what the principal referred to as, “fever outbreak’ in the school about two weeks ago.
He confirmed that over 20 students are admitted and recuperating at Kinara hospital in Nyamira town over the outbreak that hit the school two weeks ago.
“Our school coincidently had a fever outbreak where a number of our students were affected but are responding positively to medication at Kinara hospital,” confirmed Murungi.
Murungi however urged the public and parents to be calm and desist from spreading propaganda and misinformation about the whole issue but instead wait for clear reports from the investigating officers.
The body is lying at Nyamira county hospital mortuary awaiting autopsy to establish the cause of death. The students who were released for early half term break will report back on Monday, May 30.
By Deborah Bochere
