DCI frustrating me, says mum of girl who died at Murang’a school

The mother of a Form One student who died at CCM Gatanga Secondary School Murang'a in March has accused the DCI and the principal of frustrating her. 

Martha Wanjiru told the Star since her daughter Ebbie Noelle, 15, died under mysterious circumstances, the police have been reluctant in establish the truth. 

The school alleged that Noelle fell from her bed in the dormitory on March 9. But her mother said she died on March 8 and accused principal Veronica Mwangi of ignoring her calls. Wanjiru said she has been blocked from accessing her daughter's dorm to find closure. 

Three different pathologists 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. 

"The principal has been hostile to me. The DCI's office has been avoiding me. Parents at the school whose daughters were Noelle's friends do not want to talk about my pain," a sobbing Wanjiru said.

The Star's efforts to contact the DCI and the principal were futile. They did not respond to telephone calls.

Wanjiru said she received a call from the principal on a Saturday morning in March informing her that her daughter was unwell. She was asked to go to Naidu Hospital in Thika.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Wanjiru alleged said her daughter's body was lifeless and ice cold. The tummy was swollen and she was foaming from the nostrils.

There were reports that Noelle had complained of chest pains to the school’s deputy principal but she was ignored and was later found dead in her bed.

But principal Mwangi said Noelle had run a cross-country race the previous day and finished among the first 10 out of 900 girls.

Wanjiru said she has been unable to move on because of the pain of the sudden loss of her daughter. 

Wanjiru said her lawyers have written several letters to the DCI's office asking the detectives to investigate the matter in vain.

"Whenever they make a follow up visit to the Kiambu road headquarters, they are told the Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti is out of the country," she said. 

"Does it mean that whenever the big man [DCI Kinoti] is not in, no work is going on? What kind of injustice is this?" she asked.

"No action has been taken by the Ministry of Education against the teachers. The boldness with which the head teacher has been dismissing me shows 'someone big is behind her.'" 

The student's mysterious death sparked an outcry. The principal said the girl could have died at the hospital, but officials at the hospital said she was already dead by the time she arrived.

(Edited by P. Wanambisi)