Kin of student who ‘recorded suicide’ say she died of illness

This week, social media was abuzz with news of a Meru National Polytechnic student who allegedly committed suicide after a misunderstanding with her boyfriend.

It was also reported that Fridah Makena even recorded her suicide as she swallowed some pills.

But in a turn of events, her family distanced itself from claims that the 19-year-old student committed suicide.

Earlier this week, a 26-seconds video of the young woman taking pills surfaced online and later went viral after it emerged that she had died.

According to her friends, the diploma student had shared the video and photos of the tablets on WhatsApp, claiming that her boyfriend had cheated on her and that she was fed up with life.

But during her burial, the story was different.

In a funeral account seen by Nation, the student is said to have died of diabetes which she had been battling since her high school days.

“The late Fridah enjoyed and lived a healthy life until she was diagnosed [with diabetes] while at Kaaga Girls. Fridah never failed to take her medication at the stipulated time. She portrayed great signs of improvement after receiving treatment at [Consolata Hospital Nkubu] and Kiirua Hospital. On February 25, she was taken ill and admitted [to Consolata Hospital Nkubu] where she underwent treatment…she was still receiving treatment when her condition worsened due to kidney and liver failure,” her family wrote.

A student from Meru National Polytechnic who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Fridah had differed with her boyfriend after she found out that he was cheating on her.

“Her classmates tried to convince her not to take her life but she was adamant. Some of her friends who went to check on her after she failed to attend an event they had planned found her unconscious in her room,” he said.

Fridah was taken to Consolata Hospital Nkubu where she died three days later.

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