Kirinyaga Assistant County Commissioner Jackline Mutonyi Waliaula was found dead on Wednesday in her official residence in Ndia Constituency.
The lifeless body of the seven-month pregnant administrator was found lying in a bed in the wee hours, causing panic among her colleagues at the Kiangwachi government quarters and other parts of the county.
A domestic helper spotted the body of the 33-year-old administrator and alerted police, who rushed to the scene to investigate.
The maid became suspicious that something was amiss when her boss failed to wake up to go to work.
When she went to check on her, she found her dead and hurriedly alerted the police and neighbours.
Shocked administrators streaming into government quarters at Kiagwachi in Kirinyaga where an assistant county commissioner Jackline Mutonyi Waliaula, 33, was found dead on July 28, 2022.
As the news of Ms Waliaula’s death spread, shocked administrators across the region, led by County Commissioner Moses Ivuto, rushed to the scene to mourn the death of one of their own.
The administrators said that at first they could not believe Ms Waliaula had gone until they saw her body.
They eulogised her as a friendly person and sent messages of condolences to her family.
As the administrators tried to come to terms with the loss of their colleague, family members arrived at the scene from Nairobi.
They broke down and wept uncontrollably after seeing the body and had to be assisted by well-wishers who had camped outside the residence.
Colleagues said Ms Waliaula was heavily pregnant and was expecting a baby soon.
“Ms Waliaula had even bought a lot of clothes for the unborn baby in preparation for delivery, but as fate would have it, she and her infant perished,” one officer said.
Ms Waliaula, who was in charge of the Ndia West sub-county, was described by residents as hardworking and humble.
Kirinyaga West Deputy County Commissioner John Mbugua said the cause of Ms Waliaula’s death could not be immediately established.
“We have just learnt of the death of the administrator but we can’t tell what happened to her,” Mr Mbugua said.
He said investigations were underway to establish the cause of death.
“Only a postmortem examination will reveal the truth of the matter and we are asking family members to be patient and wait for the conclusion of investigations,” he said.
Residents said they had lost a dedicated administrator who took her work seriously.
“She delivered quality services and we were satisfied with her work. Her death will linger in our minds forever,” one resident said at the scene.
The death came a few days after another administrator collapsed in his residence in Nyeri and died. BY DAILY NATION