Girl, 15, dies after jumping into lake Solai, Nakuru

A 15-years-old girl has died after allegedly committing suicide by jumping into Lake Solai, Nakuru county.

Joy Chepkoech Rotich, a class 7 pupil at Ng'endaptich primary school in Solai, Nakuru county lost her life after drowning in the freshwater lake.

The incident happened on Tuesday at around 6 am according to Senior chief Mark Mogotio of Ruiyobei Location.

The pupil who is said to be a jovial girl is alleged to have disappeared from her guardian's home where she was staying, on Monday night after the guardian raised concern over her dwindling performance in school.

"This morning I was called by the headmaster of Ng'endaptich primary school informing me of the incident. According to the preliminary reports and information given by the other pupils, they found the girl in school when they were reporting at 6am," Mogotio said.

He added, "The girl is said to have walked into the lake which borders the school and threw herself into the water and drowned. Rescue effort ensued with local divers only able to retrieve her body at around 9am."

According to the family spokesperson Johanna Rotich, his brother who has been living with Chepkoech, called him at night informing him that she was missing.

They conducted a search up to the wee hours of the night without a trace.

"I received a call from the school head at around 6am informing me to rush to the school for an emergency. We hurriedly went to the school and it's when we arrived that we got the information about her drowning," Rotich said.

Rotich said before she escaped from home Monday night, she had been told to explain why she had a poor performance in an exam that the school had conducted.

The headmaster described the deceased as a jovial pupil who was hardworking and finished all her assignments on time.

Senior chief Mogotio has urged parents to get closer to their children's mental health and to understand what going on in their daily lives to avoid such fatal incidences.

He has also urged the authority to help in putting up a fence around the school to condone off the lake which borders the institution and also to train more divers who can respond to such incidences instantly.