Detectives are racing against time to unravel the mysterious death of Mercy Cherono, a first-year student at Daystar University who passed away on September 8.

Cherono was found dead in a hostel only four days after admission to the university.

The parents have demanded answers from Daystar University and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) into the exact cause of the incident.

In an interview with the media, her father, Bowen Kanda, recounted the last moments of his daughter.

Further, Bowen disagreed with the reports by Daystar University that his daughter committed suicide.

Mercy Cherono Phone Calls

While recounting his daughter’s last moments, Bowen said Cherono called her mother at around 6pm on that fateful day.

In the call, Cherono informed her mother of her plans to travel home because she never wanted to attend a party organized by the university for freshers.

Her mother agreed, adding that she was free to travel home anytime.

However, Cherono called the mother again at around 7pm and reported that she had not found a vehicle to board from the university to town. 

For this reason, she decided to go back to school and attend the fresher’s party.

Additionally, Bowen revealed that Cherono called the mother for the last time at around 9:30pm.

Mercy Cherono informed the mother that she was having fun at the party.

She added that she was having chapati and soda for supper.

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Daystar University Call

At around 2am, Cherono’s mother received a call from the university administration.

She was asked to rush to the university’s main campus in Lukenya.

However, upon reaching Mlolongo, the mother received another call from the administration requesting her to drive to Shalom Hospital in Kitengela instead of the university.

Body at Hospital 

Upon arriving at the hospital, the mother was received by the university administrators and doctors from the facility.

However, she was not given any explanations behind the call from the university.

Nevertheless, the mother together with her son waited for a response which never came.

The mother pressed the university officials at the hospital who informed them that their daughter was in the facility, and she was confirmed dead after suffering stab wound injuries.

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Police Reports

Previous reports indicated that Cherono committed suicide at the university hostel.

Police in Athi River said the university security coordinator, Patrick Darizu, reported the incident.

“He reported that there was a body of a female first-year student lying in a pool of blood at the Patience West hostel washroom at Daystar University,” said the police.

Additionally, the police said the body of the deceased was discovered by her fellow students.

The report revealed that the students jumped over the walls of the toilets and opened the door to gain access to Cherono’s room.

“Police officers and DCI personnel visited the scene, and it was established that the deceased Mercy Jerono Kwambai had locked herself inside the toilet and committed suicide by stabbing herself on the left side of the chest using a kitchen knife.” 

The officers processed the scene before the body was taken to the mortuary at Shalom Community Hospital for post-mortem examination.