Police in Kakamega have launched investigations into the death of a school principal whose body was discovered in River Kipkaren, days after he went missing.
Simon Isiaho Shange, the principal of Munyuki Secondary School, went missing on November 3 while on his way to collect examination papers from the office of the Lugari Sub-county Deputy County Commissioner. His body was found on Saturday, November 8, having been dumped in a river.
Lugari Sub-county Police Commander Robert Kurgat said they are treating the incident as a suspected murder unless investigations prove otherwise.
“We, however, call for calm because our officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have launched investigations,” he said.
Officers from the DCI and Scene of Crime collected samples at the site where his body was discovered and interviewed locals.
Preliminary discoveries point to the possibility of the principal having been tortured before being killed.
His disappearance had sparked widespread protests in Kakamega, with Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) officials threatening to disrupt the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.
His wife, Salome Mukuna, said, “We are now afraid that the same people who killed my husband might come for us. We don't know why they had to kill him.”
She said his phone went silent immediately after leaving home, yet he had fully charged it overnight.
“No one should be left behind in this matter because no one is above the law. Arrest anyone who will be mentioned in this murder,” he said.
Mr Savula said there have been cases of teachers in Lugari being threatened, assaulted, and murdered.
“Two weeks ago, the head teacher of Makhukhuni was attacked and assaulted by people known to him. Today, this principal has been killed. We want the authorities to play their roles right,” he added.
Mr Johnston Wabuti, the chairman of the Kuppet Kakamega branch, said, “It cannot be possible for a principal of a school who was going to pick examination papers to go missing and his body discovered rotting in a river. People must be behind his death and we want to know them.”
The discovery of the teacher’s body raised questions about what happened to him after he left his house to collect examination papers.
“What really happened between the times his vehicle was found at the accident scene and his body turning up kilometres away in the river?” Mr Wabuti questioned.
Ms Joy Musungu, the Kuppet Secretary for Gender in the county, blamed police officers for ‘laxity’ in addressing challenges facing teachers.
“Why couldn't the police use his phone signal [to find out] where he was? It is very painful losing one of us under such unclear circumstances,” she said.
The school was engulfed by a sombre mood, with parents running in to confirm the principal’s death.
Mr Michael Amukowa, the chairman of the Kakamega County Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association, described the slain principal as a teacher who was dedicated to mentoring both teachers and students.
“I knew this man, Isiaho, as a perfect teacher of Kiswahili who was so harmless even to harm a fly. May his killers find no place to hide,” he said.
