Police are investigating the murder of a 15-year-old Murang'a boy who sat KCPE this year.
Juliano Kanyonyo emerged third in his school after scoring 376 marks. He was found dead in his room at home on Sunday.
Kanyonyo had undergone circumcision on Monday last week and was on his last day of bed rest when he died.
Read:
According to his uncle Joseph Kamande, his mother called for him and when he did not answer, she went to his room with some relatives and found him dead on his bed.
Kamande said blood was oozing from his mouth.
County commander Farah Mohamed said an autopsy revealed Kanyonyo had died from brain haemorrhage.
“The postmortem results revealed that the boy had blunt force trauma in his head that is consistent with assault,” he said.
Mohamed said the police are now looking for the people behind the boy’s murder. “We have just started our investigations, we will work with the boy’s family to ensure the culprits are found,” he said.
Mohamed warned residents against harassing initiates in the name of tradition, saying it could escalate into assault and death.
Residents had expressed concern the boy had been tortured to death in the process of making him transition into adulthood.
“We have to know who was talking to him, at what time and why and I know it is only a matter of time before we get the killers,” Mohamed said.
Kanyonyo was eulogised as a disciplined and hardworking boy.
Gatitu Primary School headteacher Robert Muchara said the boy had been a top performer.
Kanyonyo had started a rabbit rearing project in his home that he tended to during his free time. His father died in 2012.