Kenya Methodist University (KeMU) is mourning the death of one of their student who died after a night of partying with friends.
20-year-old Ephantus Tuitoek was found dead on Saturday at around 4:30am after he allegedly fell while trying to get over a private hostel's gate.
A post mortem examination established that Tuitoek who was pursuing a degree in education died due to cardiac arrest.
KeMU's Vice Chancellor Prof Maurice Okoth said that on that fateful night, the second-year student who plays for the institution’s badminton team was having fun with his teammates.
The team spent the night drinking and dancing since they were going for a tournament in Karatina on Saturday.
Prof Okoth said early Saturday morning the team could not trace Tuitoek and they left for the tournament without him.
“They decided to go and eat at their captain's house that evening. After supper, they drank alcohol and danced overnight before dispersing at 4.30 am to prepare for the games," said Okoth.
“However, the rest of the team members could not find Ephantus when they were departing at 6.30am,” he added as quoted by the Daily Nation.
The VC said the team learnt later that Tuitoek was found dead adding that the landlord and residents believe he might have tried to scale the wall and he fell hitting his head since he was found with head injuries.
Tuitoek's family has said that they suspect foul play over their son’s death and have asked the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate the matter.
Tuitoek’s uncle Duncan Kibet said they visited the scene where the incident happened and found that the gate at the private hostel is not high.
“We have assessed the gate from where he is said to have fallen. We suspect foul play. Why did his teammates proceed to Karatina without establishing his whereabouts? We requested for another post mortem which showed that he did not suffer any injuries. We want the DCI to thoroughly investigate what transpired,” said Kibet.
North Imenti DCI boss James Githinji said investigations into the incident have been launched, adding that tissue samples are being analysed by the Government’s Chemist.
“It is too early to allege a cover-up. Investigations will establish what happened,” said Githinji.