NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 7-Martha Wanjiru, the mother of the late Ebby Samuel recently broke down, as she made a passionate appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta, to intervene and help get justice for her daughter, following her mysterious death 3 years ago.
She painted a picture of desperation in her efforts to get closure and the many hurdles she has to overcome, without success.
Wanjiru said, years later, her daughter is not resting in peace, since those who claimed her life, are yet to be brought to book.
Wanjiru was speaking to journalist Lynn Ngugi, when she narrated her ordeal pursuing the truth behind the death of her daughter- who was then a student at Gatanga CCM Secondary school, now St Anuarite Gatanga Girl’s school.
“I touched her from head to toes, hitting her cheeks and I was like wake up, don’t do this…but she was gone,” Wanjiru said of the day she saw her daughter dead.
“I asked God to raise her for me…I was like, people are afraid of the dead, but God if you raise her for me, I will not even run away like people do, I will stay just right here. But that never happened.”
Her pursuit for justice has been torturous and one full of challenges, Wanjiru said.
But there might be hope that Wanjiru and her late daughter will get justice if the latest reports by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations are to go by.
The 15-year-old girl died on the night of March 8, 2019, under unclear circumstances.
The George Kinoti led DCI headquarter now says it has been handling the matter since January 10, some three years after the incident happened.
The murder probe is being overseen by the Director of the Homicide division Martin Nyuguto, who is based at the DCI headquarters.
A teary Wanjiru had accused detectives handling the case of being sluggish and unhelpful, in what she said was an elaborate plan to defeat justice.
On the day Ebby died, the school said she had fallen from her bed, the night before her classmates noticed her motionless body.
The DCI says detectives have recorded statements from several witnesses, who include Ebby’s classmates.
The plan, the DCI said was to record statements from witnesses including Ebby’s classmates on January 11, but the detectives tasked with the assignment, “found the school environment intimidating for the witnesses and opted to take their statements once the schools were closed, during the ongoing holiday.”
The recorded statements, the DCI says contradict the account given by the school administration.
“The team has established that on the fateful night, Ebby had been assaulted severely by a senior member of the school’s administration on allegations that her hair had been styled contrary to school regulations,” the DCI said.
Ebby, the DCI said, was assaulted by the said senior member of the school’s administration, during evening prep time, minutes before the 9 pm bedtime bell rung.
Students who had been interviewed by Ngugi said she had a swollen face and was crying when she returned.
She retired to bed that night, with severe injuries.
That was the last time Ebby’s friends saw her alive, “as their efforts to wake her up the following morning turned futile.”
An autopsy conducted by the government pathologist confirmed that Ebby died as a result of blunt force trauma, due to head injury.
“The detectives are also investigating a conspiracy to defeat justice by the school administration, which gave contradictory statements and has been intimidating students who are willing to give the actual account of what transpired,” the DCI said in a Tweet.
“This informed the decision by detectives to visit the children in their homes where they have opened up on what really transpired.”
The DCI says, “investigations are in advanced stages and it is only a matter of time before the perpetrators of Ebby’s killing are brought to book and held accountable for their actions.”
“The Directorate of Criminal Investigations assures all students and witnesses in this matter who are willing to volunteer information that their identity shall remain anonymous.”
-My Birthday is no longer a big deal-
Wanjiru, a mother of three last saw her daughter alive on February 25, 2019. It was her birthday.
“It is the day I took her to school, after a 10-day midterm break. Years later, my birthday has never been a big deal,” she said.
Two weeks later, Ebby died
“Her death changed the trajectory of my life,” a teary Wanjiru said.
She was called by the school’s principal and later the deputy principal, who informed her that her daughter was unwell.
Wanjiru was requested to go to the hospital where her daughter had been taken, allegedly after falling ill.
While this school said she was taken to the hospital unwell, the medical facility said they received a body.
Three different pathologist in their reports concluded that the teenager had died of a head injury inflicted by blunt trauma.
The reports were by a government pathologist, the school’s pathologist, and an independent pathologist hired by the family.
Ebby’s mother has talked of being frustrated by both police and school administration of frustrating her.
“I had hoped to see my daughter, even if in a critical condition,” she said during her recent interview with Ngugi.
Will justice be delivered this time?
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