There is light at the end of the tunnel for the family of a 15-year-old  girl who died mysteriously in school.

After almost four years, Kiambu Law Court granted the Directorate of Criminal Investigation homicide detectives a prayer to detain ex- Gatanga CCM deputy principal for seven days at the Gigiri police station. 

Elizabeth Wairimu Gatimu is now a suspect in the murder of Ebbie Noelle Samuels, who died at the school in 2019.

Gatimu appeared before Kiambu deputy registrar Sylvia Motari on Monday and is expected to undergo a mental assessment at Mathare Mental hospital before February 9, where she will be arraigned before a High Court judge for plea taking.

Kiroko Ndegwa,  who is Ebbie’s lawyer, said Ebbie's justice was delayed for four years and having an accused person arraigned in court today rekindles hope of getting justice for his client.

Ebbie's mother Wanjiru Samuels has welcomed the court decision.

Ebby was a Form 1 student at Gatanga CCM High School, which has since been renamed to St Anuarite Gatanga Girl’s school.

On March 20, 2019, Ebby's mother Wanjiru received a call from Ebby's school informing her that the daughter was unwell and had been taken to a nearby hospital.

When she got to Naidu Hospital in Thika, she found the body of her daughter with a swollen stomach.

"Upon inquiring, the school told me that Ebby had fallen off from her bed at night and was rushed to the hospital," she said then.

"The hospital however told me that my daughter had been taken there already dead."

Unsatisfied with the explanation, Wanjiru dug deeper from her classmates.

After the story was featured in the media, Ebby's classmates came out to disclose that the deceased had been badly beaten by the school deputy principal the evening she was found dead.

They said Ebby had styled her hair, against the school regulations and was summoned by the deputy principal.

"When she came back, her body was all swollen as she told me that the deputy had hit her badly and she was in a lot of pain," one classmate said.

The DCI said then that they had taken over the case but the school was very hostile.