Farida Kazdo Changawa, the 17-year-old Kilifi schoolgirl who was killed by a wine tapper.
“I am going to pick my phone.”
These were Farida Kadzo Changawa’s last words to her aunt before she returned with a knife lodged in her neck, its blade exiting through her mouth.
On the night of June 6 around 8pm Farida, her aunt Umazi Wambua, her mother Mary Mlongo and other family members were having dinner at their home in Madina, Kilifi County.
A 21-year-old wine tapper, who had worked in the family’s coconut plantation, had joined them for the meal.
While the rest of the family ate inside, Farida, who was a 17-year-old Form One student, and the wine tapper chose to dine outside on a bench under the stars.
According to Ms Wambua, everything seemed normal and the two chatted and shared stories as they ate.
“Farida later brought their dishes back inside and said she was going to pick her phone,” Ms Wambua recounted.
The wine tapper had left first, followed shortly by Farida.
What the family didn’t know was that those would be her final moments.
“About 20 minutes later, we heard a scream. We all rushed outside and found Farida lying in a pool of blood. She was already dead,” her aunt recalled.
She had been stabbed several times with the knife was still embedded in her neck.
Rejected his advances
The family raised the alarm, drawing the attention of neighbours and the area chief. Police from Kijipwa Police Station arrived soon after and arrested the suspect.
First responders said they encountered Farida running back toward the house and they attempted to remove the knife but once it was out, she collapsed and lost consciousness.
“It appears the knife may have severed a vital neck muscle,” Ms Wambua said.
Farida Kazdo Changawa, the 17-year-old Kilifi schoolgirl who was killed by a wine tapper.
Farida was the fourth-born in a family of seven, a mother to a nine-month-old baby and had returned home temporarily to care for the sick child.
“She only came home to look after her baby. Otherwise, she was always in school,” said Ms Wambua.
Why the wine tapper turned violent remains unclear. The family says he had worked with them for six months and had become obsessed with Farida, pressuring her into a romantic relationship.
He had allegedly planned to take her to his home for an introduction ceremony on June 15. Farida, however, had rejected his advances, choosing to focus on her education. She already had a child from a previous relationship.
Defilement victim
“I wouldn’t say they were in a relationship. He had intentions she declined. Maybe that rejection drove him to violence,” Farida's aunt said.
Farida had returned to school with the support of the International Justice Mission (IJM) which also supported her baby’s welfare. IJM has condemned the killing, calling it tragic and unacceptable.
IJM Senior Manager Aggrey Juma, who had overseen Farida’s case, said she was attacked after refusing to attend the introduction event with the wine tapper.
“We extend our condolences to Farida’s family and community. Her death highlights the persistent threat of violence against women and children in vulnerable communities,” Mr Juma said.
“Farida’s story reflects a grim reality where poverty, inequality and weak law enforcement leave survivors unprotected,” he added.
But this wasn’t Farida’s first encounter with gender-based violence.
In 2020, she was defiled and received support through the justice system aided by the same organisation that later helped her return to school.
A charge sheet seen by the Nation shows that Samuel Shindo was charged at a Kilifi court with defiling Farida between August 2020 and May 19, 2021. Although the charge sheet listed her age as 16, her family insists she was only 13 at the time, having been born in 2008.
Shindo denied the charges, claiming he was 17 at the time. But the court found the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted him of defilement under Section 8(1) as read with 8(2) of the Sexual Offences Act.
Shindo was sentenced to two years in prison on July 10, 2023. Barely two years after that ruling, Farida lost her life.
Farida Kazdo Changawa, the 17-year-old Kilifi schoolgirl who was killed by a wine tapper.
Her family is now hoping for justice, again.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Working Group on Gender-Based Violence, chaired by former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza, has highlighted the immense economic and human cost of GBV in Kenya, estimating losses of Sh41 billion annually.
The group says 60 per cent of femicide cases occur within home settings.
They warn that GBV not only causes emotional and physical harm to survivors but also leads to economic setbacks, as many victims suffer trauma that affects their productivity and overall well-being.
Kilifi County Criminal Investigation Officer Robert Kiinge confirmed the arrest of the suspect in the death of the late Farida Changawa.
Mr Kiinge said the suspect was in custody and would be arraigned at the Shanzu Law Court at any time.
“We asked the Court to give us some days to complete our investigations, and now the autopsy report and the witness are ready,” he said.
Additional report by Maureen Ongala
