Counties

Suicide: secondary school teacher found dead inside a coffin he made

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The teacher based in Nyeri county is believed to have placed himself inside a coffin he reportedly made after which he ingested an identified poison/Courtesy

NYERI, Kenya, Jan 12 — A secondary school teacher has been found dead in a rental house in a suspected suicide case.

The teacher based in Nyeri county is believed to have placed himself inside a coffin he reportedly made after which he ingested an identified poison.

The lifeless body of 46-year-old Joseph Gathogo, a teacher at Muhoya Secondary School, was retrieved by police from a rental house at Ihururu Shopping Centre a week he went missing.

This is after his relatives were alarmed informed by his disappearance learnt from neighbours that a foul smell was emanating from his house which was locked from inside .

Hundreds of curious residents milled the area to catch glimpse of the home-made coffin. The smell of the unknown poison which he had swallowed was evident .

Conforming the incident Tetu subcounty police boss Phillip Mwania said that relatives of the deceased had noticed that he was missing for one week and decided to check him in his house .

“Accompanied by police the relatives visited his house but we’re met by foul smell and a a closed door ,on breaking they were atonished that their kin was dead inside his homemade coffin,” said Mwania.

He said that the relatives told police officers that Gathogo who appeared disturbed had been visiting their home at Ngangarithi village but all of sudden he had stopped prompting the search.

“His relatives told us that prior to his death he had his own issues but they never though he would take his own life we are investigating to establish more details,” said Mwania.

His body was taken to Nyeri County Referral Hospital morgue as DCI officers processed the scene.

Capital News

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Milton Nyakundi

Milton Nyakundi is a veteran multimedia journalist with over 20 years of experience across broadcast, digital, and print media, who relocated to the United States in 2022 and is now the Senior International Correspondent for Kurunzi News based in Washington, DC, USA. He has previously worked with the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), among other high-profile roles with Kenya's first privately-owned media outlet - Kenya Television Network. His experience also include prominent roles as Media Consultant for Football Kenya Federation (FKF), and StarTimes Kenya. His career spans high‑stakes political reporting covering legislative and constitutional issues, elections, governance, and accountability across Kenya, Africa, and global arenas. He also boasts extensive sports journalism experience, covering local and international sports events, including leagues, tournaments and sports governance. He is well-known for his investigative depth, editorial leadership, and evidence-driven journalism that guides his consistent delivery of public‑interest storytelling across platforms.

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