Stella Chepkoech Kurgat a second-year clinical medical student at Kisii University was living with her sister Lornah Cherono Kurgat at the time of her disappearance. On September 23 2017, Stella left their shared house in Green Light Estate, Kisii town to visit her boyfriend in Kisumu, promising to return the next day.
Hours turned into days, days into weeks, weeks into months and months into six years. According to her family, Stella the 25-year-old student loved the finer things in life and was obsessed with the lives of celebrities. She had focused so much on social media to the extent she missed some of her lectures.
Her mother Florence Kurgat said she had been to hell and back looking for her daughter. She even considered travelling to Shakahola, Kilifi County to see if the daughter could be among the 200 unclaimed bodies linked to the cult deaths.
“She was supposed to join her classmates at the university library to study as usual, but she never showed up, causing alarm among her classmates who called her sister in the evening to inquire about her whereabouts,” said Ms. Kurgat in an interview.
“It is so painful that a child who never lacked anything, who I sacrificed a lot to educate and provide for, has just disappeared without a trace, “she added.
Stella’s disappearance was reported at Bomet Police Station but there has been no breakthrough in the investigation. Unlike other families with missing relatives, Stella’s family has not searched for her at any mortuary.
