The father to the KU graduate who was murdered by her ex boyfriend in Nairobi's Kahawa Wendani estate on Monday has denied reports that the suspected murderer Maxwell Ochieng had been paying his daughter's school fees.

22-year-old Edinald Atieno, fondly referred to as Awech, was stabbed 10 times in the neck and chest by Maxwell. She had just broken up with the 36-year-old ex military officer. Edinald's father John Akello said that all he learned from his elder brother, after her death, was that she moved in with Ochieng when she could not find a hostel within the university.

he said: “She was the youngest and brightest among my four children. She was the hope of this family and had a bright future. I have single-handedly struggled to educate my children, more so my last born girl, from primary school to the university. How could he pay school fees when she was a regular student? I paid her fees for the first two years before she got a Helb loan.”

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He said the application for funds from the Higher Education Loans Board was successful in Edinald's third year at the institution.

Her relatives and friends said that they learned of her death through the news and social media, saying that they had been waiting to celebrate Edinald's graduation at her home in Ngege village, Migori county.

 “She used to come home to visit her grandmother whenever she got a chance during the holidays. We loved her," he said.

John told the Star at his home on Tuesday that Atieno treasured education and worked hard for admission to the university. He said Edinald attained 384 marks at Ngege Primary School where she wrote her KCPE and proceeded to Ng’iya Girls' High School. She studied public health at Kenyatta University and graduated on July 15.