Police in Manga sub-county, Nyamira are investigating an incident where the body of an 11-year-old grade six pupil of Ekoro primary school was found in a well within her grandmother’s compound, five days after she was reported missing.
Mary Arita was reported missing on March 29, 2023, after she was allegedly sent by her grandmother, who she lives with, to collect a debt from a neighbour within Ting’a village, never to return back.
According to Everline Kwamboka, who lives in the same compound, the elderly woman sent the deceased to collect a debt from a nearby neighbourhood immediately after she reported back from school.
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She said they made a report to the area chief’s office the following day and also made a report to the local media houses of a missing person.
Kwamboka said that on Monday 3rd April, instincts led her to a well within the compound, when she opened it, she noticed an ‘object’ at the water level and she immediately called a neighbour who suspected the ‘object’ could be of a human being.
They then raised an alarm which attracted villagers. The area's acting administrative chief called the police from Manga police station who retrieved the decomposing body from the well.
Arita’s head teacher Absolom Ondieki said that the deceased attended school on Tuesday last week and later the sports event at a neighbouring school and didn’t show any signs of stress.
He said she did not turn up the following day which prompted him to send her colleagues to check on her and later on Wednesday afternoon, her guardian reported to the school about her disappearance.
“We have since then been hoping that the girl will resume back to school, unfortunately, we have been hit by the sad news this morning of her death. The school is mourning the loss and her schoolmates are tormented. We ask the investigating agencies to unravel the mystery behind her death,” Ondieki said.
Her class teacher Alex Joel termed the deceased as a well-mannered girl whom he has known since grade 4.
“She has been of good character and well-mannered all the way from the time I knew her in grade 4, we only ask the government to unearth the riddle behind her death,” Joel said.
Her body was moved to Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary awaiting autopsy.
