“I took my child to school not mortuary” – Mother of 16-year-old student who committed suicide in dormitory after being accused of stealing pencils speaks

Magdalene Mueni, the mother of a 16-year-old girl, Francisca Dokee, who committed suicide a few days ago after she was accused of stealing pencils, is seeking justice.

The deceased, a form 3 student of Tala Girls’ High School in Matungulu, Machakos County, killed herself after being accused of stealing a packet of pencils and Sh2,500.

She’s said to have hanged herself in one of the dormitories of the school after the school’s deputy principal allegedly asked her to return items she had been accused of stealing.

Matungulu deputy sub-county police commander Evans Mose, who confirmed the incident said the body was found dangling from rafts of the toilet on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.

Speaking on the incident, that reportedly led to her daughter’s death the bereaved mother said her daughter’s soul was pure and innocent, adding that she was raised with Christian values and had no discipline problems.

However, the school’s administration claimed that the student ‘agreed’ to return the said items. She is then said to have been told to look for the dorm’s prefect who was supposed to provide her with keys to enable her to collect the items.

“The student took too long to come back, thus making the deputy principal suspicious. She proceeded to the dorm in the company of three other students only to find the student’s body,” the police said in a report filed at Tala Police Station.

Police were immediately called to the scene to commence investigations. The student’s body was taken to the Kangundo Hospital Mortuary.

A suicide note was discovered from the student’s items adding more questions about what happened.

In the suicide note addressed to her mother, the student does not mention the Sh2,500 the school’s administration claimed she had been accused of stealing but only talks of pencils and that she was never given a chance to explain herself.

“I told you guys that I am not responsible for the lost pencils but you will still not believe me as you insist I am the one,” the note read in part.

Addressing journalists on Friday, September 2, at Kangundo Level 4 Hospital mortuary in Machakos, Mueni, a widow, demanded to know from the school what made her daughter take her own life.

She accused the school administration of complacency and handling the events that led to her daughter’s death unprofessionally.

“I took my child to school, not to mortuary. I don’t know what my child did. I’m told she committed suicide, but I don’t know. I want to know. That soul is innocent, let it rest in peace. I accept she is gone. As a mother I can say she was a good child. I have never seen her with bad habits,” Mueni said.