JUSTICE FOR MICHELLE JENNIFER

By:Brian Miheso

photo source:Jill Africa

Imagine,as a parent, waking up one fateful morning to prepare your daughter, 8 years of age a grade two pupil and take her to school healthy,lively all cheered up not knowing it is the last time you see her alive.

The most  painful bit of the story being mismatching statements,zero investigations,no charges..which translates to no justice to the grieving family of such an innocent Angel.So disheartening right?

This is the story of Michelle Jennifer's death and the intrigues sorrounding it.

On Wednesday 19 May 2021 Linda Achieng prepared her 8 year old daughter JENNIFER MICHELLE a grade 2 student at Niewview schools in kayole and escorted her to school before heading to town for she is a student at a certain institute located in town.

Upon returning home that evening at 5p.m something unusual had happened, Jennifer was not home yet.She searched for her in the neighborhood and at her friends homes but no one knew her whereabouts.

The mother then resolved to file a missing child's report at Soweto police station at 8p.m the same day.

The following morning Thursday 20 May 2021,she received a call from Soweto police station informing her that her daughter had been traced to Mama Lucy hospital in kayole.

Upon reaching the facility,Linda was in for a rude shock,her daughter's body was lying right infront of her lifeless.After an inquiry to the circumstances on which her daughter died she was informed that the child had been brought to the hospital on Wednesday evening at 5 p.m by an unknown "middle aged" couple and was confirmed dead.

On Friday 21 May 2021, the girl's father Ayub Owino visited the school to inquire on the facts about her daughter's death and was allegedly informed that her daughter collapsed while at school on Wednesday evening and was taken to Mama Lucy Hospital while still alive.

On Tuesday 25th May 2021 police were able to obtain a CCTV footage at The hospital which was concealed from the media.In the footage,four people driving a station wagon Reg no KBS 167p are seen driving into the health facility on Wednesday the 19th of May at 5p.m carrying the minor.

They then discharged her into the waiting bay as some pretended to be fill formal admission forms before vanishing 14 minutes later.

The vehicle used to drop the girl is said to be registered under the name Ezekiel Gathuku Macharia.It is on the same day the 25th that an Autopsy was conducted led by the chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor at the facility but after hours of waiting the team conducting the autopsy stated that the findings were inconclusive and more samples had been collected and we're to be taken to the government laboratory for further analysis and surprisingly to date,no clear results have been out whatsoever.

Linda alleges that on the same day she tried to speak to the headteacher but she got no response for he was busy having chats with the Investigation officer.

Linda further says her efforts to get information from Mama Lucy Hospital on circumstances sorrounding her daughter's death all bore no fruits.The only information shared with her was that a middle aged couple took the minor to the hospital while unconscious  their identities unknown.

She tried to further seek information from the police on the postmortem results but was not provided with any or the report,infact she says the officer told her to go home and give birth to another baby.

Later it came to notice that Jennifer answered a question wrongly in class and her class teacher hit her on the head and later bribed the kids with as low as 30 shillings to so as to keep their mouths shut on the matter as alleged by her classmates.

There are still alot of unanswered questions with absolutely  "no one" to answer for instance,whose negligence led to Jennifer's death?and if indeed she collapsed as alleged by the school,why was her parents not informed first before taking her to the hospital?why was she dumped at the facility?why was the CCTV footage concealed from the public?...

So sad In kenya justice still is a nightmare,Is this what our forefathers fought for?A DEAD NATION INDEED!! R.I.P 

#JUSTICEFORMICHELLE