A 17-year-old student in Karaoro village, Kokwanyo location in Homa Bay County committed suicide on Monday using his father’s service pistol.

The deceased, Terryken Odhiambo, a student at Maseno National School in Kisumu had returned home for the mid-term break and is said to have shot himself on the head.

Rachuonyo North Sub-County Police Commander Peter Wallah, who confirmed the incident, said preliminary investigations indicated that the teenager had become angry after his mother confiscated his mobile phone.

Wallah said the mother had reportedly visited the school earlier and discovered that her son’s academic performance was declining. Upon further inquiry, she learnt that he had carried a mobile phone to school and had been spending excessive amounts of time on it instead of focusing on his studies – a factor that is believed to have contributed to the drop in performance.

He said the student returned home while still upset over his parents’ decision to confiscate his phone.

“What we have gathered so far indicates that the phone issue may have triggered the incident, although investigations are still ongoing to establish the exact circumstances that led to the tragedy,” he added.

The commander said the incident unfolded in the early hours of the morning while the student’s father was in the bathroom.

“His father is a police officer based in Meru County. He was at their family’s home at the time of the incident,” Wallah explained and added that the deceased sneaked into his parents’ bedroom, took his father’s pistol and left the house unnoticed.

He reportedly made his way to the nearby Mawego National Polytechnic compound, where he shot himself in the head at around 4 am.

“We received information about a shooting incident at Mawego National Polytechnic and immediately rushed to the scene. We established that the boy had entered the institution before dawn and shot himself using his father’s firearm,” Wallah said.

Wallah noted that the father had never anticipated such an incident and had legally owned the firearm for many years without any problems involving his children. He urged parents to reflect on how they communicate with their children and encouraged greater emotional, religious and spiritual support in raising young people. 

“As parents, we may believe we are making the right decisions for our children, but we also need to understand how they perceive those decisions. We have met the family and offered our support during this difficult time,” he said.

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have launched investigations to establish the circumstances surrounding the death.

The body was moved to Rachuonyo South Sub-County Mortuary in Oyugis.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Sitna Omar