• DCI said perpetrators of Ebby’s killing will be brought to book and held accountable for their actions once investigations are over.
• "So far, we have recorded several statements all of which contradict the account given by the school administration."
Image: THE STAR
Detectives investigating the death of a Form One student Ebby Noelle Samuel claim there has been a conspiracy to defeat justice by the school administration.
Ebby, a student at Gatanga CMM Secondary school, currently, St Anuarite Gatanga Girl’s school, met her death on the night of March 8-9 2019.
The DCI has been undertaking investigations into the murder since then.
Police had claimed that gathering information within the school had proved futile since there was witness interference. They opted to conduct the probe during the April holidays.
“In order to establish the actual circumstances that led to Ebby’s death, the detectives sought to record statements from witnesses who include Ebby’s friends and classmates," the DCI statement read.
The school administration had claimed that the student had fallen from her bed the night before her classmates noticed her motionless body.
But the detectives now claim the school administration had given contradictory statements and has been intimidating students willing to give the actual account of what transpired.
The detectives visited the students in their homes where they shared what transpired.
“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,” DCI said.
“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.”
According to DCI, the team has established that on the fateful night, the deceased 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.
Further, the DCI said the incident happened during evening preps time, minutes before the 9 pm bedtime bell rang.
Ebby is said to have 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," DCI said.
An autopsy conducted by the government pathologist confirmed that Ebby died as a result of blunt force trauma ( a severe head injury).