Police in Homa Bay town have summoned five family members of a Grade 1 pupil who allegedly died by suicide at their home.
Tony Ouma, who was a pupil at Pap Ndege Primary School in Homa Bay, was found dead by his siblings on Tuesday evening. He was seven years old.
Tony reportedly used a bathing cloth to commit suicide at their homestead in Pap Ndege. His father Joshua Ouma said he was informed about the death of his son by his children.
The father was going about his business in Homa Bay town when he received information about the death.
“I got a text message asking me to rush home as Tony had died. I was not immediately told what killed him," Ouma said.
He said he rushed home and started an enquiry on what happened.
The boy’s neck was tied with a bathing net made of manila. The net was tied to a wire used for hanging clothes and the body was in a kneeling position.
The body was naked and had bruises. According to the father, the body was discovered by one of his sons who was going to a latrine.
"We're appealing to the police to investigate it for justice to prevail," he added.
Homa Bay town police commander Peter Maluki said Directorate of Criminal Investigation officers are probing the cause of death.
Speaking to journalists in his office on Thursday, Maluki said the DCI had summoned members of the family for interrogations.
The police boss said the circumstances that led to the boy’s death are not clear.
He said they are interrogating the family members including the father, mother and the boy's siblings who were at home during the incident.
On Wednesday, the father recorded a statement.
“The matter is subject to investigations because there are some facts that do not add up as far as the cause of the boy’s death is concerned," Maluki said.
The boy’s body was moved to Homa Bay County Referral Hospital mortuary.
Postmortem will be done to unearth the cause of death.
