Brigid Jemosop's family reveals shocking conversation with her before she died in Ireland
File image of a street in Dublin, Ireland. PHOTO| COURTESY
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The
family of Brigid Jemosop, the 23-year-old Kenyan student who died in Dublin,
Ireland two weeks ago has detailed their last interactions with her before they
learned of her death.
Jemosop
had been pursuing her bachelor's degree in nursing while working part-time in
Dublin since June last year.
Her family
says she flew into the country for a one-week vacation last month, when they spent
time with her in Nairobi, Mombasa and her upcountry home in Kabarnet, adding
that she was in high spirits.
In an
interview with the Daily Nation newspaper, the family says they accompanied her
to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to see her off on
February 7.
Brigid’s
mother, Sarah Kandie, says two days after she arrived in Dublin, her daughter called
to tell her she was at the airport receiving some girls from Kabarnet who had
flown there for studies and she would be their host.
The
family says their uneasiness came the following day, Sunday, February 11, when
Brigid called asking to speak to her brother.
“I
handed the phone to her brother and I sensed that something was amiss. A few
minutes later, I noticed that her brother, who had moved some distance away
from me, was crying and I snatched the phone and asked her what was wrong."
“She
indicated that she was stressed but insisted that it had nothing to do with
money. She told me that her boyfriend had allegedly locked her in the house,
yet she was supposed to go to work,” the mother told the newspaper.
She
said her daughter claimed she feared for her life, alleging that the said
boyfriend had earlier threatened to stab her but insisted she would handle the
case herself.
“I
informed her to call the authorities and she said she had already done so. I
also advised her to inform the same student from Kabarnet, who was also living
with her in the same city but she claimed she would handle it,” the mother said.
According
to the brother, Victor Kiprotich, his younger sister insisted that he first
move a distance from their mother when he was handed the phone and he obliged.
“We
are so fond of each other but that day she seemed to be in very low spirits.
Immediately we started talking she broke down crying, claiming that she was
very disturbed and that she had been locked inside the house by her boyfriend
who had left,” Kiprotich said.
He
says he advised her to call the guards to sort out the issue and she confirmed
that she had done so and that they were on their way.
“I
also told her to call her roommates who also hail from Kabarnet but she said it
would take them two hours to reach where she was. She told me that if she did
not talk to me again, then I should stay rest assured that she loves me, then
my mother took the phone from me after realising that our conversation was
disturbing,” the brother added.
The following day, on Monday, the family says they tried to reach Brigid in vain as their calls went unanswered.
On
Tuesday evening, they managed to reach some students and roommates who were
living with Brigid, who told them that their family member was dead and that
she had allegedly ingested bleach and died shortly after being attended to at a
medical facility on Monday morning.
The
family has urged Kenyans to stop speculating about Brigid’s death online and has
called on the government to help them get justice for their deceased kin and
help repatriate the body.
The
family would receive news of Brigid’s death two days later from relatives and
friends that she was no more after unsuccessfully trying to reach her on the
phone.
“They
insisted on a family member going there so that they could release the results
of the autopsy and also release the body for repatriation and we are pleading
for help because we have to look for money to facilitate our travel there,” Brigid’s
mother told Daily Nation.
They
say they are yet to receive any formal communication from Irish authorities on
the circumstances surrounding her death.

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