A promising future was cut short in the Riat area of Kisumu when the decomposing body of 21-year-old Rose Benter Apondi, a second-year social work student at the Ramogi Institute of Advanced Technology (RIAT), was recovered in Riat Forest. The body bore multiple stab wounds, confirming a violent end days after her disappearance on April 5, 2026.
Detectives from Kisumu West, working with officers from Maseno Police Station and Riat Police Post, made the grim discovery following the arrest of prime suspect Steven Coleman Okoth, her former boyfriend. Okoth is accused of masterminding the gang rape, torture, and murder in Kisumu’s Milimani area. Two accomplices remain at large.
The relationship between Apondi and Okoth had ended, but he reportedly refused to let go. For about two months prior to April 5, Okoth repeatedly visited her residence in the Riat area, issuing threats and appearing unannounced. Family members say Apondi had spoken about the harassment. She was an active member of her Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) church choir and had attended a choir function in Kilgoris shortly before her disappearance, communicating normally with relatives.
What started as concern over failed calls due to poor network escalated into horror for Apondi’s elder sister. At midnight, a distressing text message arrived from the victim’s phone. It described how she had been lured into a drinking spree by two male colleagues from the same institution. Incapacitated—likely drugged—she was sexually assaulted and abandoned in a bush in critical condition. The phone then went offline.
Forensic leads traced her last known movements to the Milimani area near the Kenya Wildlife Service offices. Witnesses reportedly saw Okoth with the heavily drugged student that evening.
According to family accounts and police reports citing the suspect’s alleged confession, Okoth and his two accomplices approached Apondi under a false pretext: offering help to secure an attachment (internship) opportunity relevant to her social work studies. This deception persuaded her to leave with them.
Investigations indicate the attack unfolded in the Milimani area. Apondi was allegedly gang-raped and tortured before being stabbed multiple times. Okoth reportedly told detectives the killing occurred around 1 p.m. on April 5. After the murder, the perpetrators allegedly used her phone to send misleading messages at midnight to family, neighbors, and her class representative, pretending she was still alive but in danger—possibly to delay or confuse the search.
Her body was dumped in Riat Forest, near the college she attended. By the time it was recovered, decomposition had set in.
Okoth was arrested at his workplace, Compassionate Family Carers in Kisumu’s Milimani Estate, where he served as a volunteer caregiver. His employer expressed shock, describing the allegations as “grave and deeply distressing” and contrary to the organization’s values of care and well-being. They cooperated fully with police and offered condolences to Apondi’s family. Crucial exhibits of evidential value were recovered during the arrest.
Initially denying involvement, Okoth allegedly confessed after further interrogation, including the recovery of Apondi’s phone from a septic tank at the workplace compound. He reportedly admitted planning the act with two others, detailed the luring under the attachment pretext, the timeline of the assault, and led police to relevant sites. His stated motive, according to reports of the confession: “I wanted to punish her” for the breakup.
Detectives continue searching for the two accomplices. The public has been urged to provide information anonymously via DCI hotlines.
Apondi’s aunt, Arich Ndege, who had publicly appealed for help during the missing-person phase, expressed devastation. She stated that Okoth confessed details of the luring and killing, and took officers to the scene. “The boy has caused deep pain in the community and has ruined many lives. He deserves the harshest punishment,” she reportedly said.
The family and the broader Kisumu community, including Apondi’s SDA choir, are mourning a vibrant young woman whose life was violently taken. Her case has reignited conversations about femicide, stalking, and the safety of female students in Kenya.
Steven Coleman Okoth is being processed for arraignment on charges including murder, gang rape, and related offenses. All allegations remain subject to court determination.
This tragedy highlights the dangers of unchecked intimate-partner harassment and the need for swift intervention when threats are reported. As the search for accomplices continues, Apondi’s family awaits justice for a young life stolen under the guise of help and reconciliation.
