A Form Two student was found dead in Mogoroka village, Kitutu Masaba constituency, Nyamira County. The 15-year-old student, Josphat Mayaka, reportedly took his own life by hanging, allegedly due to the inability to pay his school fees.
According to his parents, their impoverished circumstances had caused a delay in paying the required fee of Sh20,000. The parents, Philip Mayaka and Joyce Nyanchera, had pleaded with their son to be patient as they tried to gather the funds to pay for his education and that of his younger sister, who was set to join Form One.
“We are very low-income earners and live a precarious life as you can see. But we had assured him that we would pay the fee as long as he could be patient,” said Mr. Philip Mayaka when Taifa Leo visited their home.
The father explained that they were surprised when their son did not wake up as usual one morning. They went to wake him up, and upon entering the room, they found him hanging from the ceiling with a mosquito net tied around his neck.
“We were alarmed as his radio was on until 5 a.m., which was unusual. We had to investigate what was going on. The door and window were sealed from the inside. We broke the window and found him hanging from the ceiling, having tied the mosquito net to himself,” added Mr. Mayaka.
The mother of the deceased was overwhelmed with emotions and cried bitterly over the loss of her son. The body of the late student is currently preserved at the Hema Hospital morgue.
Mr. Mayaka shared the family’s plans, stating, “The deceased was studying at Bobaracho High School. We had planned that if we got the fee, we would pay half for him and the other half for his younger sister who sat for KCPE in 2023.”
Mr. Mayaka appealed to well-meaning Kenyans to assist his daughter, who is yet to join Form One, in achieving her dreams.
