A family in Kipkures area in Trans Nzoia County is mourning after their son died while participating in the National Youth Service (NYS) recruitment exercise in Kitale Town.
According to the deceased’s father Jairus Maruti, the son Isaac Kimutai Maruti participated in the recruitment exercise without his knowledge and he was only notified later of his demise.
“I never knew my son was participating in the said activity because I am a headteacher based in Kakamega County. Neither did he notify his mother of the said activity,” he said.
Eyewitnesses say the Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology graduate collapsed during a strenuous road race physical exercise.
“At the beginning of the race, he was among the leading runners but he started slowing down at some point before finally fainting,” one of the witnesses said.
Efforts by the NYS personnel to rush him to the nearby hospital were futile as doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
“We are so shocked about the news as nobody knew about his whereabouts and was surprised to be informed by those who had accompanied him of his demise.”
His family also wondered how he collapsed yet he appeared to be physically fit.
“We relocated from Kopsiro in Mt Elgon area and the boy was physically fit due to the nature of the area so we are wondering how he could not finish physical fitness road race,” the father said.
The body is preserved at the Kitale Nursing Home awaiting autopsy to reveal the cause of death with Kitale police commencing investigations into the matter.
