Kidnapped and murdered university student buried in Bomet
Felix Kibet Terer (left), the university student whose body was found five days after he was kidnapped. On the right: Richard Terer (right) father of Felix Kibet, flanked by Mrs Pauline Korir, a relative as they brief the press on December 21, 2022, at their home in Siongiroi, Bomet.
A Kirinyaga university student who went missing for five days before his body was found dumped in a river has been buried in Bomet county.
Felix Kibet Terer was buried at his parents’ home in Siongiroi village, Chepalungu constituency in an emotional ceremony with his parents and relatives demanding speedy probe by the police into the circumstances leading to his death.
He is suspected to have been kidnapped, tortured, murdered and his body dumped at river Thiba in Ngomongo area, Kutus in Kirinyaga county.
Mr Richard Terer, the father of the deceased said the family was yet to come to terms with the reality of losing their child in suspicious circumstances.
Mr Terer who is an administrator at the county government of Bomet said he spoke with Kibet on the morning of the day he was to disappear (December 15, 2022) and there was nothing to show that he was in any form of trouble.
He revealed that his son had sat for his exams and had stated he would travel home on Tuesday last week, but that was not to be as he went missing and his body was found floating in a river on December 19.
The body of the second year Economics and Finance student was moved to Kibugi funeral home in Kutus, after being retrieved from the river according to the police.
Mr Terer said it had injuries on the head, the eyes and abdomen appeared to have been burnt in what points to a case of torture.
“The body was fully clothed, complete with his jacket, shirt, shoes and socks on, and his mobile phone was in the side pockets of a pair of trousers he wore,” Mr Wesley Terer, the uncle to the deceased said.
A postmortem report indicates that Kibet died due to lack of oxygen, and that his heart was functioning normally at the time of drowning. It further indicates that the body had injuries on the head.
After the postmortem, the body was moved by the family from Kibugi funeral home to Longisa county referral hospital mortuary in Bomet county to await burial.
The family has expressed dissatisfaction in the casual manner the police allegedly treated the missing person report that was made and that had they devoted time and resources to investigate the matter, he would have been found alive.
Mr Richard Terer (left) father to Kirinyaga university student Felix Kibet whose body was found in a river five days after he went missing, speaking to the press while flanked by his brother Mr WesleyTerer (right) and a neighbour Mr John Rono (back) at the family home in Siongiroi village, Chepalungu constituency on December 21, 2022
Following the disappearance of the students, the family travelled to Kirinyaga to take part in the search and they claim that the police handled the matter very casually.
“The police did not do much to look for our son after a missing person report was made. Fellow students took it upon themselves to look for him all over. We had to make several phone calls to other government departments to have the police take some steps on the case. It is very unfortunate” Mr Terer said.
Mr Terer stated that his son could have been found alive had the police been more proactive on the matter.
“I wish I could know the reasons why my only son had to be subjected to the kind of torture and murder he went through. What sin did he commit to warrant his dying such a painful death?” Mrs Anne Terer, the student’s mother, wondered.
Kirinyaga Police Commander Alfred Ongengo said last week that investigations had commenced to establish whether the cause of death was as a result of murder or suicide.
With the burial rites dispensed with, the family is waiting for the police to unravel the cause of abduction and subsequent murder of their only son.
Principal Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs Mrs Aurelia Rono and Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok earlier called for seedy investigations into the incident that has thrown a family in Siongiroi, Chepalungu constituency, Bomet county into mourning.
“It is unfortunate that Kibet died the way he did when his parents had dedicated a lot of resources to educate him and are now forced to bury him at such a young age,” Mrs Rono said.
Speaking when they went to condole with the family, Mrs Rono called on the CID to unravel the real cause of death of the student so as to put the matter to rest.
“It is painful for a parent to lose a child in a suspected case of murder. I am appealing to the police to unravel the circumstances under which the student died. His parents, friends and fellow students are looking for answers and I have confidence the CID will get to the bottom of the matter,” Mrs Rono said.
Professor Barchok said lately there have been rising cases of murder involving university in what has worried parents.
“The cases involving abduction and murder of students need to be addressed as a matter of urgency as it is causing anxiety among parents and the community,” Professor Barchok said.
Professor Barchok called on students in universities and colleges to be cautious with the people they are befriending as some of them could have dubious backgrounds.
Cases of Kirinyaga university students going missing only to be found murdered have lately been on the rise in what has raised concern among parents and guardians.
