Kitui woman kills herself after failure to raise Form One fees

What you need to know:

  • The daughter had threatened to commit suicide after realising that she might not be joining her school of choice.
  • The girl had received two admission letters, one from Machakos Girls High School and another one from Chogoria Girls.
  • County Children’s Coordinator Daniel Musembi said his office will take up the matter and support the girl.

A 37-year-old mother in Kitui County has committed suicide after failing to raise school fees to take her daughter to Form One after she scored 396 marks in last year’s KCPE exams.

Kitui County Police Commander Anthony Kamitu confirmed the Wednesday incident, saying the woman who hails from Katulani in Itoleka Location was distraught after failing to raise fees for her daughter who was due to join Form One early this week.

“The mother of three is said to have taken the decision after her daughter threatened to kill herself if the family didn’t raise money to fund her schooling after excelling in KCPE exam,’ said Mr Kamitu.

ADMISSION LETTERS

The girl had received two admission letters, one from Machakos Girls High School and another one from Chogoria Girls High School in Embu County.

According to preliminary investigations by the police, the daughter had threatened to commit suicide after realising that she might not be joining her school of choice.

Mr Kamitu said the woman left a suicide note indicating that she regretted that she could not raise the money needed to take her daughter to secondary school.

Police officers from Itoleka Police Station visited the scene and collected the body and took it to the Kitui County Referral Hospital mortuary for preservation awaiting post-mortem examination.

SUPPORT GIRL

County Children’s Coordinator Daniel Musembi said his office will take up the matter and support the girl to achieve her dreams through the presidential bursary under the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programme.

‘We are pursuing the matter at the moment. We are looking for details to enable us get to the girl’s home for immediate assistance and enrolment into the OVC programme,’ said Mr Musembi.

The officer said that the government has many programmes that offer funding for vulnerable children to transition to higher levels of education in a bid to enable them compete with their endowed counterparts.

‘I regret the incident, it is painful to lose a parent. The orphaned children will be supported by the government to enable each of them realise their potential in life,’ added Mr Musembi.