A family in Uasin Gishu is in agony after receiving the disturbing news of the death of their son, who was a student in Canada.
The decomposing body of Brian Kiprop Kiplagat, 23, was found floating in a river in Canada 11 days ago.
Kiplagat was pursuing a degree in Information Communication Technology (IT) at Winnipeg University, Manitoba, and had been living and studying in Canada for three years.
His parents said their son exhibited symptoms of psychological torture and unease before his mysterious death.
His father Jacob Kiplagat Limo says the family received news of his death on July 17, but have not received any further details. Canadian police are yet to release a comprehensive report about the death, the family says.
According to his parents, the last time they talked to Kiplagat he seemed to be facing some challenges. He asked them for money to buy a new phone. Although he had started doing some jobs in Canada to earn a living, he used to request financial assistance from his parents, who say they understood this was a result of the many bills he had to settle as a student in a foreign country.
In conversations with his parents, Kiplagat also said that he was facing racial discrimination that had caused him to have low self-esteem. He further told his parents that he wanted to return home “immediately”.
“When I communicated with him two weeks ago I sensed that he was mentally disturbed,” his mother Mrs Hellen Limo told Nation.Africa on Thursday.
He last chatted with his father on July 11, after which his parents were unable to reach him on phone.
“If I stop typing this message we might not chat again,” the deceased had said in his last message to his parents, in which he also asked them not to send him the money he had earlier requested.
His father says Kiplagat started developing a negative attitude towards Canada a few months before his death. “I started noticing that there was something wrong with my son,” he recalled.
A former Segero Adventist High School student, Kiplagat had declined an offer to study at Kisii University since his heart was in Canada. His mother helped him secure a place in a Canadian University.
“My son, who was an ardent Seventh Day Adventist worshiper, was always free with me. His dream of becoming an IT engineer has been shattered in a foreign land under unclear circumstances,” said Mrs Limo.
“He was my close friend. I remember him calling me to seek advice on how to identify a good girl for marriage.”
At their Sogomo home in Chepkoilel on the outskirts of Eldoret town, mourners have been streaming in to condole with the family.
Mrs Limo said the family is yet to come to terms with the demise of their son.
She urged the Kenyan government and Embassy in Canada to help the family know the cause of Kiplagat’s death.
Mr Limo said though police in Canada are yet to release the body to a mortuary, claiming that it is in a pathetic state, they are hoping that it will be released to the family for burial.
He also thanked the Kenyan community in Canada for supporting the family since their son’s demise was reported.
The deceased’s brother Mathew Kiplagat described him as a jovial and social man.
Kiplagat’s family is appealing for assistance to bring home his body for burial, with this estimated to cost about Sh4 million.
They have urged well-wishers to support them through MPesa Paybill number 522533, Account number 7799999 to meet the expenses.
