A KCPE boy who scored 395 marks in the just-released national examinations has passed on after suffering infections emanating from a botched circumcision.
The 14-year-old boy is said to have undergone a traditional circumcision on December 3, at Lelmokwo in Nandi.
He had joined four of his cousins for the rite of passage that is much cherished among the Nandi community.
The December holiday saw thousands of youths from the Kalenjin youths undergo the cut.
According to a family statement, the boy became sickly two days after the cut.
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He reportedly stated vomiting and even stopped eating.
The father Gilbert Kirwa told a local daily that the boy's legs began swelling, he became weak and complained of chest and stomach pains.
"The teen was healthy before the circumcision and looked happy to graduate into manhood before joining high school the next year," Kirwa said.
However, his condition worsened three weeks after circumcision.
The boy was later taken for extensive treatment at the Eldoret Hospital where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he was diagnosed with septic shock.
Septic shock is a widespread infection causing organ failure and dangerously low blood pressure.
Common symptoms include pale and cool arms and legs, chills, difficulty in breathing and decreased urine output. Mental confusion and disorientation may also develop.
The other four cousins were healthy and graduated on December 28 according to the family
Kirwa blamed the death of his last-born son on a delay in diagnosing the condition.
He said the boy may have been given the wrong treatment before he was taken to the Eldoret Hospital.
Public health officials in Uasin Gishu and Nandi have reported that several other initiates died of infections while in seclusion within the last three weeks.
