Piece by: ROBERT OMOLLO

16 March 2023

• Akoth sat her KCSE exams in 2022 at Oridi Mixed Secondary School in the Ndhiwa constituency.

• The suspect mother however argued that Akoth was in their home, and developed sickness before she died. They claimed Akoth died of malaria as she was being taken to the hospital.

Mbita police are looking for a man linked to the alleged murder of a 19-year-old girl in Karapul village, Suba North constituency.

Vivian Akoth is reported to have been killed through strangulation after she went to visit the man on Tuesday night.

Akoth sat her KCSE exams in 2022 at Oridi Mixed Secondary School in the Ndhiwa constituency.

Akoth who hails from Kiasa village in Central Kwabwai location, Ndhiwa is said to have gone to visit the man on Tuesday evening.

The suspect is reported to have met Akoth in Homa Bay town before they boarded a vehicle to his parent's home that same evening.

Her death was revealed on Wednesday evening after the suspect allegedly ferried her body secretly to Med 25 Kirindo mortuary.

The deceased's elder brother Churchil Agola said they learned of Akoth's death after a mortuary attendant called one of their family members to identify the body.

Agola said on Thursday morning they positively identified the body.

“We were surprised by the death because we knew Akoth had gone to visit our elder sister who is married in Kanyikela where she was schooling,” Agola said.

Preliminary medical results indicated that Akoth had a swollen neck and blood was also oozing from her ears.

The suspect mother, however, argued that Akoth developed a sickness before she died. They claimed Akoth died as she was being taken to the hospital.

“They claimed my sister died of malaria but nobody informed us about all those. How can someone become sick and die without informing close relatives or calling for assistance?” Agola asked.

The matter was reported to Kanyanja assistant chief Moses Sirawa. The administrator has already reported the matter to the Mbita police station for more investigations.

Sirawa said the man disappeared from home after the incident, adding that they are looking for him.

“The suspect might have planned this before execution. He might have killed her before secretly ferrying the body to the mortuary,” Sirawa said.

Agola has already recorded a statement with the police in Mbita.