A promising student leader from Kibabii Diploma Teachers College has lost his life after a brutal attack on his family’s farm, leaving fellow students, relatives and the Bungoma community in deep mourning.
Derrick Masika Lukorito Wangamati, who served as the institution’s Student Association Deputy President, was reportedly set upon by a group of assailants wielding slashers while he was checking on his maize crop in Marakaru, Mayanja Bitunguu.
He was a second-year student at the college.
Neighbours rushed Derrick to Bungoma West Hospital, where medics provided emergency care before transferring him to LifeCare Hospital.
Who was Derrick?
Despite the efforts of medical staff at both facilities, he did not survive his injuries.
Derrick was the son of Dennis Wangamati, a brother to former Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati, making the slain student the governor’s nephew.
The connection has drawn additional attention to the case, with the wider Bungoma community closely watching developments as investigators work to establish the motive behind the alleged attack.
Police arrest suspect in Derrick’s murder
Police launched a manhunt immediately after the incident.
A key suspect who had reportedly crossed the border into Uganda was tracked down, arrested and brought back to Kenya. He is currently being held at Bungoma
Police Station, together with other suspects, as investigations into the alleged murder continue.
When will Derrick be laid to rest?
The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the Kibabii student fraternity and the broader Marakaru community.
His family, still reeling from the loss, has appealed for prayers and financial assistance to help meet medical bills and burial costs incurred during his final days.
Derrick is set to be laid to rest on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at Marakaru, Mayanja Bitunguu, where family, friends and community members are expected to gather to pay their final respects to a young man whose death has left a gap far too large for his age.
