KAKAMEGA, Kenya — Detectives have launched investigations after two university students were found dead inside a house in the Maraba area of Kakamega Central in what police suspect may be a murder–suicide.
Police said the two victims were students at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST). Their bodies were discovered in the same house, sending shockwaves through the local community.
Preliminary investigations indicate that one of the victims may have fatally stabbed the other before taking his own life. However, investigators said the motive behind the incident remains unclear.
Relatives of one of the deceased, a 21-year-old third-year student identified as Dariel Jedidah Luvunga, said they last spoke to him on the evening of March 8.
Concern grew after repeated attempts to reach him the following day failed. On March 10, family members visited the house where he lived but found the door locked from the inside.
According to police, the relatives peeped through a small opening and noticed someone lying motionless on the floor, prompting them to alert authorities.
Officers arrived at the scene and forced their way into the house, where they discovered two bodies. One man was found lying on the floor with multiple stab wounds to the head and stomach, while the other was discovered hanging in the bathroom.
Police confirmed that the body found hanging was that of Luvunga. A blood-stained kitchen knife believed to have been used in the attack was recovered at the scene. Investigators also said no suicide note was found in the house.
The bodies were moved to the Kakamega County General Hospital Mortuary for postmortem examination as detectives continue to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The incident attracted a large crowd of residents who gathered outside the house as police removed the bodies.
Authorities urged members of the public to remain calm and report any information that could assist investigations.
In a separate incident, police in Vihiga County are searching for a 43-year-old woman accused of fatally stabbing her 79-year-old father in Chamasilihi village in Mbale Sub-location.
Police said the victim, identified as Mundanya Hezron Madaga, died after being stabbed in the neck during the attack. The suspect reportedly fled the scene immediately after the incident.
The body was taken to the Vihiga Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary as detectives launched a manhunt for the suspect.
Police statistics indicate that murder cases have been rising across the country, with authorities reporting an average of up to eight incidents daily, many of which remain under investigation.
