A candidate at St. Peters Gathuthi-ini Day Mixed Secondary School in Ndia, Kirinyaga County succumbed after a 7-year battle with leukemia just four days before KCSE.
According to the student’s family member Millicent Wambui, Clement Kariuki passed away on Thursday while receiving specialist care at Kenyatta National Hospital.
According to Wambui, the student has been under her care ever since his mother passed away while he was in class six.
“Kariuki had been ill for the past seven years but his condition worsened on Thursday and he was rushed to hospital for treatment. We had high hopes that he would sit and pass the KCSE exam because he was a bright young man. However, our hopes were dashed when we received reports that he died in the morning of the same day,” said Wambui.
Ms Wambui said he had been looking after the boy since his mother’s death.
It is a double tragedy for the family as Kariuki’s mother succumbed to the same illness in 2017.
“It is sad that I have also lost my grandson. It is a big blow to the family, it is so painful to lose a candidate,” Ms Wambui said.
The family said they were now trying to come to terms with his death.
Before his death, he had been treated at the Kenyatta National Hospital and Kerugoya Referral Health Facility.
“We are in shock after what happened to Kariuki,” said Mr Jonathan Gichimu, an uncle of the deceased.
