This archive report was first published on 4 November 2021.
On October 24, 2021, Beryl Jerop, a 16-year-old student at St Teresa of Avila Secondary School in Nandi County, died under unclear circumstances. Her parents, David Kipyego and Ruth Jeruto, have since called for investigations into her death, accusing the school management of negligence.
According to her uncle, Thomas Too, he was informed of Jerop's sickness at around 11am on the Sunday she died. However, he claimed that the caller asked him to hurry up, as Jerop had fainted. Too said he received another call from the school, asking him to go to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) mortuary.
Jerop's parents said the school should have informed them of her illness before she died. Ms Jeruto accused the school management of negligence and asked the Ministry of Education to ensure thorough investigations into her death. 'We went only to find our daughter's body in the mortuary. We had received the devastating news of her death from our other daughter,' said Ms Jeruto.
On Wednesday, principal Margaret Liaram said Jerop was attended to by a nurse at the school when she fell ill. Liaram said the girl became weaker on the Sunday she died and was confirmed dead in hospital. A postmortem report later indicated the cause of death as bacterial meningitis.
