Man Held for Killing Pregnant Partner Dies by Suicide in Custody

A man arrested over the killing of a teacher in Bomet County has been found dead in a police cell hours after a court ordered that he be held as investigations continued.

Caroline Chepkoech Ngetich, 33, a Junior Secondary School teacher at Cheptagum School, was found dead earlier this month. Her partner, Anthony Njenga Kariuki, also 33, initially told police that she had slipped and fallen in the bathroom. The death was first treated as accidental.

A post-mortem examination later contradicted that account. It established that Ngetich had suffered severe spinal and cervical fractures consistent with physical assault. The examination also confirmed that she was about one month pregnant at the time of her death.

Following the findings, police arrested Kariuki and presented him before a court on Thursday. He was remanded in custody for seven days to allow investigators to complete their inquiries.

Later the same day, Kariuki was found dead in his cell at Longisa Police Station. Bomet East Sub-County Police Commander Michael Mwenda said the suspect had taken his own life using socks. His body was taken to Longisa County Referral Hospital mortuary, where Ngetich’s remains were also being held.

Members of Ngetich’s family said they were distressed by the sequence of events and called for a clear account of what led to her death. Her sister, Janet Ngetich, said the family wanted a full explanation before proceeding with the burial. The teacher was scheduled to be laid to rest at Mukutma village in Bomet Township on Friday.

Education unions in the county also commented on the case. Paul Kimetto, executive secretary of the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers in Bomet, said Ngetich had recently been employed on permanent terms by the Teachers Service Commission after working as an intern. He called on investigators to provide clear findings.

Desmond Langat, an official with the Kenya National Union of Teachers in Bomet, said the county had recorded several killings involving female teachers in recent years. He urged couples experiencing conflict to seek counselling as a way of preventing violence.