Lying on what would become her deathbed and writhing in pain while gasping for air, Naomi Chelangat stared at her father eyeball-to-eyeball.
There was tension in the room, as the 16-year-old Form Two student spoke slowly, but clearly, in what appeared to numb her pain and blurr out the flurry of activity in adjacent beds in the hospital ward.
"I have forgiven my brothers. But I will never forgive my father. I am dying, I can feel life drifting away. The pain is too much...But I will never forgive you (father)..," Chelangat said moments before she breathed her last.
Her father begged for forgiveness, but the frail looking patient curled up in bed in the general ward at Longisa County Referral Hospital in Bomet County - where she was undergoing treatment - would hear none of it.
Isaiah Kibet Sawe, the 44-year-old father of three, looked at her daughter, remained silent for several minutes before slowly walking out of the ward.
Daisy Sawe, the mother to Naomi Chelangat, speaks to journalists.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation Media Group
"The problem with Chelangat is that she has been misled, actually her mind has been poisoned by those coming to see her and she sees me as her enemy even after I asked for forgiveness…Make her see the sense and limit the people coming in contact with her," Sawe told his wife Daisy on the corridors of the hospital as he climbed down the stairs.
Minutes later, the girl convulsed and lost her breath as doctors and nurses were called in, where they attempted to resuscitate her in vain.
The real life scenario played out on Sunday at the hospital where Chelangat was undergoing treatment for severe internal injuries, reportedly inflicted by her father, who beat her up with a wooden plank after he found her with a man believed to be her boyfriend.
Before she died, Chelangat, a former student at Sagamian secondary school in Narok county claimed that her brothers had informed her father of the alleged relationship with the man from their neighbourhood.
Sagamian Secondary School in Narok County where Naomi Chelangat was a student.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation Media Group
According to a police report, Tendwet Sub-Location Assistant Chief Daniel Kones reported that Chelangat was beaten on September 23,2023 at Jerusalem village.
Following the death, Chelangat’s father was arrested by police and is expected to be arraigned and be charged with murder.
He was saved by the police from the wrath of irate members of the public, who were baying for his blood after the news filtered out that the girl had succumbed to her injuries.
“It is true that we (police) are holding the suspect ahead of being arraigned. He was booked at Tendwet Police Station before being moved to Narok to be processed for appearance in court,” a senior police officer privy to the ongoing investigations said on Tuesday.
Sawe is said to have found his daughter in the company of her alleged boyfriend, then beat her senseless. The boyfriend escaped.
Daisy Sawe, the mother to Naomi Chelangat, speaks to journalists.
Photo credit: Vitalis Kimutai | Nation Media Group
The girl is said to have passed out and he (father) dragged her to her room and left her for dead, with neighbours fearing to respond to her distress calls due to the alleged violent nature of the man.
"We heard the girl wailing as she was beaten by her father, but no one could dare approach the homestead fearing attack by the assailant, " Eliud Kirui, a neighbour said.
Some of the neighbours went to the homestead the following day to inquire on the cause of the girl’s distress call and found her lying on a mattress on the floor with serious injuries. She was and unable to stand up on her own.
"She was given painkillers from a local chemist. The father did not want to take her to hospital for treatment. It was only the following day when the mother arrived and created a scene that she was taken for medical attention," a relative said.
Initially, the father is said to have resisted attempts by villagers and relatives to take the girl to a local clinic, but later yielded to pressure.
"It took us about an hour from the family home downhill to carry the victim to the road where she was put on a boda boda and taken to a local clinic for medical examination" Ms Caroline Chemur, a resident said.
However, a nurse at the clinic said the injuries were too severe and the victim needed specialised medical attention. She was referred to Longisa County Referral hospital in the neighbouring Bomet County.
"A neighbour volunteered to carry my daughter to hospital for free as we did not have money. There was little else we could do in the circumstances," Ms Sawe explained to The Nation.
“I deposited Sh200 at Longisa hospital, which is all the money I had. Her father later followed us to the facility, but did not pay any additional money," Chelangat’s mother said.
It was a sombre mood at her former school as students and teachers mourned the deceased as a hard-working and disciplined learner.
Her parents have been separated for a while with the suspect staying with the children while his wife relocated to Narok where she works as a cleaner.
"I left him as I feared for my life as a result of repeated battering. It got to a point where the violence became life threatening," Ms Sawe said in an interview.
"I rushed home when I received a call that my daughter had been assaulted by her father the previous evening and that her condition was serious," Ms Sawe said.
Upon arriving home, Ms Sawe first reported to the village elder who is also her brother-in-law. The man told her he could not deal with the matter until the following morning.
"No one wanted to accompany me to go check on my daughter with almost everyone fearing to be attacked by my husband. After several failed attempts to get support, I decided to go in ready for any eventuality. I found her on the floor, writhing in a lot of pain. I asked her father if she had been treated and he said that he bought her painkillers from a local chemist," she revealed.
However, after taking care of her daughter in hospital, hoping that she would recover, she died painfully.
“All I want is justice to be served in this case. I have lost my daughter in the most painful manner. I think she suffered on my behalf..the violence was targeted at me.” Ms Sawe said before she drifted off.
Mr Erick Rono, a teacher at Sagamian Secondary School said Chelangat was a hard-working student who was rarely in conflict with anyone at the institution.
"We have received the news of her death with shock. To imagine that she died after being beaten by her father is devastating to the teachers, students and the local community," Mr Rono said.
He added. “She did not have to die the way she did. Parents should be careful not to be brutal when taking disciplinary action against their children."
Relatives and friends jammed the homestead on Monday to offer their condolences while learning was disrupted at Sagamian Secondary School, where she had not attended classes for over a week.
The body is being preserved at Longisa hospital's mortuary awaiting post-mortem and subsequent release to the family for burial.
