The lifeless body of Cliff Asmund Oroko, a promising 22-year-old Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) student, was discovered Tuesday evening in his rented apartment in Mwiki, plunging the academic fraternity into mourning.

This tragic incident, the latest in a disturbing wave of university suicides, has reignited the national conversation on mental health among Kenya’s youth. With five similar cases reported in a single day across the country, the death of the third-year Financial Engineering student underscores a silent crisis that is claiming the country's brightest minds before they can bloom.

A Note, A Noose, and Silence

Detectives from Kasarani Police Station were called to the scene shortly after 6:00 PM EAT when neighbors, alarmed by a foul smell and days of silence, peered through the window of the student's house.Oroko’s body was found hanging from the rafters of his single-room apartment, which eerily borders a local Chief’s Camp—a proximity that highlights the often hidden nature of such tragedies.

Police recovered a suicide note tucked into the student’s pocket. While the contents remain part of the active investigation, sources close to the probe indicate the note detailed Oroko's final wishes regarding his belongings but curiously omitted a clear motive for his action. "He lived alone and kept to himself," a neighbor told reporters. "We never saw signs of distress, which makes this even more frightening."

• The Grim Statistics: Police records indicate that Oroko's death was one of five suicides reported on January 20 alone. In Githioro, Nakuru County, 48-year-old Anna Waithera was found dead in her room, while in Embu, 58-year-old Silas Kamau drowned in a water tank.
• The Academic Pressure Cooker: Student leaders at JKUAT have called for an urgent review of counseling services. "We are losing engineers, doctors, and leaders to depression," stated the student union president. "The pressure to perform, coupled with financial struggles, is becoming a death sentence."

The Shadow of Depression

The death of a student pursuing a rigorous course like Financial Engineering has baffled his peers, who described him as "brilliant but reserved." The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has taken over the case, with officers currently analyzing the deceased’s phone data and financial transactions to rule out foul play or external coercion.

Mental health experts warn that the "strong silence" culture among Kenyan men is a primary driver of these statistics. The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes the rising suicide rates among youth to a "perfect storm" of academic pressure, joblessness, and the disintegration of traditional social support systems. As Oroko’s family travels from Nyamira to Nairobi for the post-mortem, the question on everyone’s lips remains: Could this have been prevented?