It has emerged that Monica Achieng, the 13 years old class six in Mwandeo Primary did not fall while playing as indicated by the school management during their first admission.
The deceased father Benson Anam wondered what was happening with the body of his daughter on 3 November after her death since she was taken to Msambweni hospital mortuary on 4 November.
Monica succumbed to internal injuries that doctors describe as central cyanosis associated with arterial desaturation that involves the skin, mucous membranes, lips, tongues and nail bed and also peripheral cyanosis which occurs when there is increased oxygen uptake in the peripheral tissues.
“Deep peripheral and central cyanosis. There are no external injuries” read the Coast General hospital postmortem report that Coast Times Digital has obtained.
Investigations by Coast Times Digital have unearthed a well-planned strategy by the ministry of education that would have seen Monica’s body buried before his father Benson Anum knew what had happened.
“A class six pupil at Mwandeo primary school, she was well till today at around 4:05 pm while in her classroom, was involved in a fight with another pupil by the name Mwanza Ganzala, pushed and fell to the floor on her head and became unconscious. She was rushed to the staffroom whereby she received some first aid and was brought to the hospital. On examination the young girl unconscious, no cardio-pulmonary activity, pupils are fixed and dilated on light.” Read a report from Hussein Ngao in Kikoneni health center written on 3 November 2022 in addition there was no cut wound or any form of inflammation noted to the head.
The statement by Mwandeo primary school management at Kikoneni health center would be followed by another affidavit through Joshua Ndere advocate in Diani in a well-planned way to conceal the truth.
Mutisya Muili the deceased grandfather said he was forced to sign an affidavit that he did not understand since he wanted her granddaughter to be buried only to raise a red flag later after getting different school versions of her daughter’s death.
“That Monica Achieng fell down while running at Mwandeo secondary school on 3 November 2022 where she succumbed to death. That I request the body to be released to us for burial and that we do not recommend post mortem to be conducted as it was a natural death. That I swear this affidavit as the representative of the family and grandfather to the deceased that Monica Achieng died a natural death as its normal and that post mortem is not a necessity,” read the affidavit that contradicts Kikoneni health center information shared by the ministry of education officials in LungaLunga.
It is the affidavit statement that made Mutisya and his son in law Benson Anum to reject the process of burial and force a postmortem.
The deceased mother works in Saudi Arabia while Monica lived with his grandparents in Masimbani-Kikoneni.
Mutisya Muili said that on 3 November was shocked to be told by a messenger at around 5:00 pm that her grandchild Monica was admitted at Kikoneni health center and that he was needed urgently.
“I went there only to be told by health officials that she was dead on arrival, since they tried to administer a drip but it was not working since she had passed on already,” he told Coast Times Digital.
He said that they had to force a postmortem because they realized later there was contradicting information coming from the school management.
“While pupils claimed their colleague was kicked several times below her breast, the school management insisted she was fighting with her colleague while others said she was epileptic,” said Muili.
He said after the decision to bury her granddaughter came, they were told to get an affidavit from court but what followed baffled him.
“We were told to get court documents to authorize burial but instead of going to court we were taken to a hotel in Diani and asked to order food as documents were being drafted by a lawyer. The lawyer affidavit was rejected by Shimoni DCI because it was contradictory that the girl was from Mwandeo secondary while she was a primary school pupil and that is also why i raised a red flag over the matter. They were asked to write a new report. I felt there is something being hidden about the death of my granddaughter,” he added.
Muili insisted that since Monica died at the school premises the government should take responsibility and cater for all expenses as well as ensure justice.
The deceased father benson Anam could not hold his tears when we met him citing frustration from hospital officials, ministry of education and even security officials who were forcing him to authorize burying Monica.
“I failed to understand why there was a rush to bury my daughter without ascertaining the reason behind her death. I came to realize that the education officials were forcing my father in-law to sign documents that he did not understand so that Monica could be buried in a hurry,” he claimed.
He said that after swimming onto the matter of his daughter’s death it is when he realized that something was wrong and stopped the burial plans on 8 November.
“I was told by DCI Shimoni that they rejected the affidavit brought to them and went back to school for investigations and that is how they heard from a different Monica classmate that she was kicked by her colleague as she tried to force herself out of the class,” said visibly shaken Anum.
He took issue with parents of the alleged Monica killer saying they have never bothered to talk to them after the incident.
“My daughter died in school and the government must take responsibility for her death,” he said.
Relatives Collins Opondo and Dorothy Achieng said that those behind Monica death should be charged for murder.
This came as the deceased mother Janice Mueni accused his ‘husband’ for taking advantage of the situation to bury her daughter in upcountry saying he has not been taking care of his children since they parted ways.
“I have no issue with him burying the girl but why upcountry. Has he been taking care of her, does he know what she has been feeding on all those years since class three? Why is he so concerned about transporting the deceased to upcountry?” she posed.
Mueni painted a picture of a family that parted ways a long time ago and that she has been supported by her parents in Mwandeo to raise the children not Monica alone since their father failed.
The issue has however attracted the attention of former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko who said he will help sort out mortuary bills and transport to Siaya for burial.
Sonko is also trying to get Mueni back to Kenya from Saudi Arabia so that she can attend the burial of her daughter.
He asked Mueni and his estranged husband to put aside their differences for the sake of the girl.
