This archive report was first published on 16 September 2019.
On September 16, 2019, a 14-year-old girl named Jackeline Chepng'eno was laid to rest in Kiptewit Village, Bureti Constituency, after her death sparked calls for free sanitary towels in schools.
According to reports, Chepng'eno had been living with her maternal grandparents in Kabiangek village in Bomet County and was a Standard Six pupil at Kabiangek Primary School.
Her death was met with an outpouring of grief, with hundreds of mourners attending her funeral and calling for an investigation into the role of her teacher in her suicide.
Area MP Kiptergech Mutai was among those who attended the funeral and called on the Ministry of Education to take responsibility for Chepng'eno's death.
He also called on the teacher to come forward and clear her name, stating that if she was found to be blameless, the matter would end there, but if not, she would have to undergo traditional rituals to atone for her actions.
Human rights activist Lillian Cheptiony also condemned the poor state of Chepng'eno's school and called on Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha to visit it.
She accused Education officers in Bomet of plotting a cover-up and threatened to write to President Uhuru Kenyatta to order an investigation into Chepng'eno's death.
