Dr Laban Kiptoo, a medical officer intern at the Nakuru level five hospital whose death is a subject of controversy was a rising star whose light was put off pre-maturely.

Mtaa Wangu has established that Dr Kiptoo’s star shone from an early age as he excelled in his education to pursue his dream career in medicine.

Born of a humble family at Chematich village in Kitale, TransNzoia sub-county the fourth born of Ms Serah and Jonah Rono’s five children got his early childhood education from his village school at Legacy school.

Read: Medical intern found dead outside Nakuru Level Five Hospital

Here, he scored 395 marks out of the possible 500 in the Kenya Certificate of Primary education in 2010 to secure an admission to a top school, St Joseph’s Boys National School Kitale.

Kiptoo sat for the KCSE in 2014 at the same school where he emerged as one of the top performers across the country with a mean grade of A plain.

He then joined Egerton University’s Faculty of Health sciences to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Dental surgery.

Dr Kiptoo graduated in February last year after successfully completing the six-year training at the university and was attached to the Nakuru teaching and referral hospital five months later.

His death on January 13 when his body was discovered in the trenches outside the Margaret Kenyatta mother and baby wing came as a shock and huge blow to the parents who had high hopes for their son.

Ms Rono, a primary school teacher mourned his son whom he described as a quiet, disciplined and hardworking child.

The mother recounted with regret the numerous times his son spoke of a bright future for the entire family after struggling with his education.

According to the mother, Dr Kiptoo’s was a bubbly child who rarely got sick nor suffered any serious medical condition.

“From the beginning I knew my son would go far. Even though we struggled with his education, we were encouraged by the signs that he showed on succeeding in life,” said Ms Rono.

The post mortem conducted on the body of Dr Kiptoo by government pathologist Dr Titus Ngulungu established that he had died of strangulation.

The family however, believes their son was murdered and is seeking justice for his death.

The father, who is a retired school teacher, called for thorough investigations to bring the perpetrators of his son’s death to book.

“My son was a peaceful person who rarely quarrelled with anyone. I wonder why someone would want to kill him. Let the police expedite the investigations to arrest the killers of my son,” said Mr Rono.

Medical practitioners hold peaceful demonstrations along Kenyatta avenue in Nakuru city on January 15, 2024, in protest of Dr Kiptoo's death.

Photo credit: JOSEPH OPENDA/MTAA WANGU

Following his death, the members of the medical fraternity have condemned the incident and called for the security of the medical officers.

His colleagues and nurses held peaceful protests along the streets of Nakuru city to demand speedy investigations and action from the police.

Kenya Medical practitioners and dentists Union as well as the Kenya union of nurses took part in the protests that paralysed activities within town for the better part of Monday morning.

KMPDU Secretary General Devji Atella in a press statement called for a comprehensive investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding the officer's death and arrest the culprits.

“There is need to heighten security measures within the health facilities to protect our members from such risks,” said Dr Atella.

Nakuru West Sub county Police Commander Francis Wahome said investigations are at an advanced stage and will soon be giving a report of the findings.

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Parents of doctor who was killed in Nakuru hospital shed light on his life and big dreams

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Joseph Openda