Mystery surrounding Gilgil Hills pupil's death deepens as family disputes postmortem results
Three year old Faiz Faraj from Gilgil Hills School who died under unclear circumstances
The family of three-year-old Faiz Faraj is demanding fresh investigations after rejecting postmortem findings that ruled his death as drowning, insisting that critical questions surrounding the incident remain unanswered.
What was first presented as a medical emergency has since turned into a disturbing mystery that has shaken both the school community and residents. Faiz, a playgroup pupil at Gilgil Hills School, was reported missing at around 11 am Friday, only for his lifeless body to be discovered two hours later in the school’s fishpond.
Despite a government pathologist concluding that the cause of death was aspiratory asphyxia, likely from inhaling water, the family has dismissed the findings, pointing to what they describe as glaring inconsistencies in both the medical report and the school’s account of events.
Faiz’s father, Faraj Ibrahim, says the sequence of communication from the school raised immediate suspicion. He recalls receiving an initial call informing him that his son was unwell and had been taken to hospital, possibly suffering from fever or malaria. Moments later, the narrative changed drastically when the school principal called to say the child had fallen into a fish pond.
“When I arrived, my child was already dead. The explanations kept changing, and nothing made sense,” he says.
The family further questioned the physical condition of the child’s body, noting that it appeared unusually clean despite the alleged drowning in a dirty pond.
A postmortem which was conducted at the Gilgil sub county mortuary by the government pathologist Titus Ngulungu revealed that that the cause of death was aspiratory asphyxia.
It occurs when foreign material such as food, vomit, liquid, or blood is inhaled into the airway and lungs, blocking oxygen exchange. It is a medical emergency that can lead to rapid loss of consciousness.
Dr Ngulungu noted that the aspiration failure was probably caused by water through the nose and mouth.
However, the family casted doubt over the autopsy results, dismissing the report that he died of drowning.
Faiz’s uncle Dickson Ndirangu, who witnessed the postmortem, claims there was no water found in the boy’s stomach, only food particles, casting further doubt on the drowning theory.
Faiz’s mother, Jane Mwangi, also faulted the school for what she termed as negligence and poor communication.
She questioned why her son was taken to a public hospital contrary to prior instructions given to the school, and demanded accountability from teachers who were responsible for supervising the children.
Tensions escalated over the weekend when family members confronted school officials, demanding justice and transparency.
Meanwhile, the school administration through is institution head Joseph Kehato ,has maintained that it is cooperating fully and urged patience as investigations continue.
Kehato extended his condolences to the family for their loss.
This tragic case has also revived painful memories of a similar incident at the same institution in 2008, where a 12-year-old pupil, Linda Chepkorir Koeach, died under unclear circumstances.
As the investigation unfolds, Faiz’s family says they will not rest until the truth is known, warning that failure to get answers could put other children at risk.