A 21-year-old female student at Eldoret Polytechnic was found dead at her rental house in Eldoret City on Thursday. Police suspect she may have died during a botched abortion.
Fellow students went to pick her up in the morning for college. When she did not open the door, they alerted the caretaker, who forced the door open. They found her body leaning on a bed with a mobile phone in her hand.
Police discovered a basin full of blood at the scene. It reportedly contained pieces of what appeared to be a foetus. Uasin Gishu County police chief Benjamin Mwanthi said authorities are investigating the cause of death.
The deceased was a second-year laboratory science student. She lived alone in a rental house about four kilometers from the polytechnic. The area is popular with students from nearby colleges.
Abortion is mostly illegal in Kenya. The 2010 Constitution allows it only when a trained health professional determines that a woman’s life or health is at risk. However, the Penal Code still criminalises most abortions, creating fear and uncertainty among doctors.
Campaigners warn that restrictive abortion laws force women to seek unsafe procedures. This can lead to preventable deaths, lifelong health problems, and trauma for survivors of sexual violence.
The tragic death has sparked concern among local communities about the dangers of unsafe abortions. Police continue to investigate the case. The body has been taken to a mortuary in Eldoret as authorities work to establish the full circumstances surrounding the death.
