This archive report was first published on 24 December 2019.
On December 24, 2019, the body of Loryne Onkoba, an 18-year-old nursing student at the Kenya Medical Training College in Nakuru, was found in her hostel room.
According to her family, Loryne had called her mother, Concepta Osinde, and grandmother, Alice Onkoba, on December 18, 2019, informing them that she would travel home since the college had closed for the December holidays.
However, when her family members tried to reach her later that day, she did not answer calls to her mobile phone, prompting them to report the matter at Kaptembwo police station.
Police detectives contacted Safaricom and were able to trace the mobile phone signal to the institution.
Nakuru West police commander Samson Gathuku stated that the body was found dangling on a bed, with a rope tied around her neck, and there were no signs of struggle in the room.
The family expressed concerns about the circumstances surrounding Loryne's death, with her aunt, Darlene Kidiavai, stating, "We sense she might have been killed and her body brought to the hostel."
The college management initially denied knowledge of Loryne's whereabouts, claiming she had left on December 18, 2019, after the college closed for the holidays.
However, the family accused the college management of reluctance to help and withholding vital information about their kin, including saying it did not know her room number.
It was only after the initiative of her classmate that the room where the body was found was located.
