Daystar University Under Pressure Over Death Of Student Who Joined 4 Days Ago

Daystar University on Thursday, September 14 declined to comment on the mysterious death of a a first-year student who was four days into her admission at the university to pursue a course in Nursing.

The 18-year-old, identified as Mercy Cherono was found dead in a hostel only four days after reporting for her studies.

The university held a requiem mass on Thursday for the departed student at the institution’s Nairobi campus but did not comment on Cherono's mysterious death.

Her father, Bowen Kanda, revealed that the death of his daughter shocked his family. On the fateful day, Kanda revealed that his daughter had called her mother informing her that she would be home that evening because there was a party for first years happening at the school that she did not want to attend.

18-year-old Mercy Cherono, who died only four days after her admission to Daystar University. /CITIZEN DIGITAL

Moments later, Cherono called her mother informing her that she decided to stay and join the party because she couldn’t find a vehicle to ferry her from school to town.

She therefore decided to return to school and attend the first years' party. At around 9.30 pm, the mother and daughter spoke again on the phone.

Cherono stated that she was at the party and was having fun, adding that she was taking chapati and soda for dinner, the last time the family would speak to her.

At 2 a.m., the institution reached out wanting the parents to rush to the institution's campus in Lukenya, Athi River immediately and later directed them to head to Shalom Hospital in Kitengela.

No explanation was offered on why the parents were called to the school in the dead of the night. It took the mother less than 10 minutes to drive to the hospital where she was met by a university administrator and doctors.

At this point, neither the school administrator present nor the hospital management offered the much-needed explanation to her.

A panicked mother in the company of her son waited patiently for answers but there was no response. The family then confronted the school official present in the hospital who revealed to them that their daughter was in the hospital where she was confirmed dead after suffering a stab wound on her left side of the chest.

Pained and distraught, the mother returned home and the following morning, reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offices at Athi-River.

“I only admitted her at Daystar University on 4th September, and hardly four days passed before she was found dead,” narrated Kanda to Citizen Digital.

Four police officers assigned to investigate the mystery death accompanied the family to the university hostels.

“That hostel that she was found in is not the hostel that I paid for. I had paid for a different hostel and she died in a different one, and this hostel does not even have CCTV cameras which could have tracked the movement of my child," he went on.

The family is now questioning the circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death, barely a week after admission. A post-mortem examination conducted on the late Cherono was inconclusive, leaving the family with more questions than answers.

“The post-mortem report is not conclusive, samples were taken and they are yet to be released from the government chemist. The preliminary report only states that the child died of excessive bleeding due to a deep cut from a knife stabbing,” added Kanda.

The late 18-year-old Nursing student will be laid to rest at her parents’ home in Kapsait, Elgeyo Marakwet, on Saturday, September 15, even as leaders from the North Rift county call for speedy investigations to uncover the circumstances under which she died.

Her parents had poked holes into an initial police report claiming that the late Cherono died by suicide. The case was reported on September 9, 2023, a day after she died.

"The death was reported by the University's security coordinator who stated that the body of a female first-year student was found lying in a pool of blood at the Patience West hostel washroom," the report read in part.

According to police, Cherono had locked herself in the toilet and stabbed herself on the left side of the chest using a knife. However, the family questioned the report demanding thorough investigations to be conducted.