JKUAT student dies by suicide in school's hostel

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology main gate. [File, Standard]

A first-year student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) has died by suicide.

The incident happened Saturday night, in the school's hostel.

Speaking to The Standard via phone on Saturday night, the family confirmed the incident.

The deceased's father, Joseph Muoki Nzau said he had had a one-on-one conversation with him before his death.

After the conversation, Nzau says his son left to pick up some items from his hostel room so that they could leave for home, but never returned.

"Imagine we talked at length with him. His death came after I told him to pick up his laptop so that we could go home. But he failed to come back...he threw himself from the fourth floor," Nzau says.

A student leader who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity says the deceased was a troubled student who seemingly had experienced distress.

He notified the father, prompting him to visit his son in school.

"He sent a text to his mother yesterday and later to his father saying that he was tired of life and the father reacted by coming to school," he narrated.

"They talked for some time and one of the reasons he mentioned why he sent the text to him was that he had missed government funding and other scholarships," he said.

According to witnesses, the student was pronounced dead at the institution's hospital on Saturday evening at around 8 pm.

The institution and the police are yet to issue an official communication about the incident.

The deceased body has since been moved to Thika level 5 hospital morgue awaiting autopsy.