The mysterious death of video vixen Sarah Gwan has raised questions about whether it was suicide or foul play.
Sarah Gwan was well-known for her appearances in popular music videos for artists such as Willy Paul, Ommy Dimpoz, Redsan, Bensoul and Reckless, but sadly, her life came to a tragic end.
The Tragic Night
On June 25, at around 2 am, Sarah Njogu’s mother was called to St. Francis Hospital, Kasarani, where her daughter was admitted after sustaining a dangerous fall. Mary Wanjiru immediately got up from bed and realized that the door had been locked—and her daughter Sarah had gone with the padlock keys.
Wanjiru squeezed herself through a tight window overlooking her daughter’s front balcony, screaming and waking up the entire apartment with her cries of terror. She dashed off to St. Francis Hospital where her daughter lay in a dire state.
Wanjiru managed to fit through the tight window, falling right across the corridor and dashing off to St. Francis Hospital where her daughter lay in a dire state.
Sarah Njogu, popularly known as Sarah Gwan, had fallen from the second-floor balcony of an adjacent building in Seasons, Kasarani, after what appeared to have been indoor drama with her three friends — two women and one man.
When Wanjiru arrived at St. Francis, she was horrified to find her daughter lying on the bed with blood coming from her ears and a cut on her head. Sarah was in the Emergency Room connected to life-saving machines, but a decision was made to transfer her to Kenyatta National Hospital.
At that point, in the Emergency Room, Sarah was plugged into life-saving machines — but a decision was quickly made, and Sarah had to be transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital.
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Sarah’s Four-Day Battle
After a four-day struggle for her life, Sarah Gwan passed away due to her injuries at Kenyatta National Hospital on a Saturday morning. Her family strongly disputes the account provided by the companions, which suggests that Sarah intentionally threw herself off the balcony.
Companions Released on Bail
Despite the family’s suspicions, the three companions were released two days later on a Ksh 60,000 cash bail each.
According to Njogu, they have not contacted the family to offer condolences or support since their release. Instead, they sent an intermediary suggesting an out-of-court settlement, which the family rejected outright.
In an interview with Citizen Digital, Sarah’s mother denied that her daughter would have committed suicide.
“Sarah was the strongest woman in my household. She began her independence early in life and was a go-getter. There is no way she would kill herself,” she asserted.
Sarah’s sister, Purity Njogu, echoed these sentiments, stating that Sarah had always been mentally stable and resilient. “My sister was not suicidal. She had been through a lot and was not the type to end her own life and leave her daughter behind,” she said.
The family is particularly troubled by allegations that one of Sarah’s companions had encouraged her to jump. “What kind of friend would encourage you to throw yourself off a balcony?” Sarah’s sister questioned.
A Father’s Urgent Journey
Her father was preparing himself to leave for Nairobi from Karatina, after receiving a call at around 3 am.
“I was asleep. I quickly got up and started preparing myself to go to Nairobi. I arrived in Nairobi at around 7 am and went straight to Kasarani Police Station where I notified the police that my daughter had just fallen from a balcony and the family suspected that her friends were behind it all,” Geoffrey Njogu says.
At Kasarani, the police advised Njogu to go see his daughter, telling him that he could not record a statement before seeing his daughter’s state first.
Upon arrival at St. Francis, Njogu says he dashed back to the Kasarani police station to report the matter, seeking to have Sarah’s friends arrested immediately.
“At Kasarani, I was provided with two police officers who accompanied me to St. Francis Hospital where the three friends were arrested and booked at the station,” he says.
At the same time, the family was desperately trying to transfer their daughter from St. Francis to Kenyatta National Hospital.
“We had to transfer her to Kenyatta because we had been asked for a Ksh 150,000 deposit at St. Francis and we did not have that money at that time,” Njogu says.
The Aftermath
Four days after bravely fighting for her life, Sarah Gwan breathed her last at the Kenyatta Hospital on Saturday morning.
Her female friends have only been identified by their first names, Angie and Vanessa. The third friend in the house at the time of Sarah’s fall, a man, has not yet been identified.
“Since they were released, they’ve not attempted to reach out to us, to condole with us, to visit the family or even call us. In fact, they had sent someone with suggestions that we needed to meet and settle the case out of court. A proposal we declined,” Wanjiru says.
The post-mortem is currently underway at Kenyatta National Hospital.
Editor’s Note: Did you know the Kenya Red Cross Society offers free on-call counselling services 24/7? Call 1199, and they will be there for you.
