Police await postmortem to establish cause of death of two students in Nakuru

Nakuru police have said postmortem examination will be done on the bodies of two students who died under unclear circumstances.

Gilgil Officer Commanding Police Division Serah Koki said the families of the two and police investigators were considering having the exercise performed before Friday to find out what caused the deaths of the two Form Four candidates.

James Kinuthia and Faith Wanjiku of Kongasis Mixed Day and Boarding Secondary school died on Saturday and Sunday respectively after complaining of stomachache.

Police and the school management said the two lived outside the school compound due to inadequate boarding facilities.

Faith had shifted from her parents' home and lived with another girl in a rental house, while James stayed with a relative.

"We are in communication with their relatives and parents. So far, investigations have not revealed anything but we are still hopeful," Ms Koki said.

Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital Medical Superintendent John Murima said the pathologist will examine their livers and any other parts of the stomach to establish what the students consumed that fateful night.

"The nature of their death is a police case. It is not normal that patients arrive in hospital one after another with similar symptoms and die immediately," said Mr Murima.

The two left the school premises on Friday evening as usual, with a source alleging that the duo were spotted drinking at a bar in Kongasis trading centre, a claim that is yet to be confirmed by police. On Monday, a parent claimed a boy from the same institution was recently found with drugs and suspended.

"It is not normal for two students to die at the same time under similar scenario. Given the background, police must spread wide their net," said a parent.

The boy was taken to hospital by relatives on Saturday night while the girl was rushed to the facility the Sunday at 4pm.

Led by Faith's mother, Mary Syombua, distressed parents regretted the incident and urged police to conclude investigations without delays and save other parents from going through similar agony.