A daughter lost, a nation alarmed: Family demands answers as Sheila Chebet buried
Portrait of Sheila Chebet, a first-year student at the Kenya Medical Training College, Nyeri campus, who was laid to rest at her family home in Olenguruone, Kuresoi South, Nakuru County, on April 7, 2026.
What you need to know:
- The young student’s dream ended violently, exposing the deepening crisis of femicide across Kenya.
- Grief turned to anger as another family buried a daughter lost to gender-based violence.
The family sat in silence, staring at the brown coffin, a harrowing reminder of a life that had left home full of promise but returned in grief.
Months earlier, Sheila Chebet had set out from her home in Olenguruone, Nakuru, to pursue mortuary science at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), Nyeri. That dream was cut short when her body was found abandoned near a coffee plantation in the Rafina area of Karatina, about 27 kilometres from the campus.
Police reports indicate that Sheila, known affectionately as Dr Shammlee, had travelled to Karatina the previous day to meet her boyfriend, Vincent Kibet, a fourth-year student at Karatina University. Preliminary findings suggest she was strangled.
Her burial at the family home in Kiptagich, Kuresoi South, drew relatives, students, and leaders in a sombre gathering marked by grief and calls for justice. Sheila was in first year. Her mother broke down repeatedly, supported by relatives, while her father, Johnson Korir, stood in quiet anguish, gazing at the daughter he had hoped to see graduate.
Speaker after speaker described her as bright, disciplined, and determined. Korir eulogised her as a humble peacemaker who united the family. He demanded that security agencies move swiftly. “This is her last journey,” he told mourners. “I loved her, and she was loved by many. Whoever was involved must be held accountable. I have educated her since she was young, only for her life to be cut short.”
Friends from KMTC Nyeri remembered her as a kind-hearted pillar of strength. Student leader Andy Victor said she had been an inspiration to the student fraternity. “She had big dreams of making a difference in society,” he said. “It is painful to say goodbye to someone who meant so much. You may no longer sit beside us in class, but your spirit remains in every corner of our memories.”
The clergy urged young people to exercise caution in their relationships and called on society to confront the root causes of violence against women. “We are sending our children to school to build their future, not to return in coffins,” one pastor said.
As the coffin was lowered into the grave, fresh waves of grief swept through the compound. For the family, the burial was not an end but the beginning of a pursuit for truth.
Mathira East Sub-County Police Commander Samson Leweri said Vincent Kibet was found in possession of Sheila's phone and was the last person seen with her. He has been detained for 14 days to allow investigations to conclude, and the case will be mentioned on April 15.
Sheila's death points to a disturbing pattern of violence against women in institutions of higher learning. Data from the National Police Service and the Crime Research Centre shows that 129 women were killed in Kenya between January and March 2025 alone. This follows a grim 2024, which recorded 597 reported femicide cases, a steady increase from previous years, with men responsible for 85 per cent of those murders.
John Kinuthia, the coordinator of the Naivasha SGBV Networking Cluster, noted that these cases often involve perpetrators known to the victims. He called for stronger collaboration between institutions and law enforcement to address warning signs before they turn fatal. “No family should have to bury their daughter under such circumstances,” he said. “Unless we act decisively, more lives will be lost.”
