The body of Simon Isiaho Shange, the Principal of Munyuki PAG Secondary School in Lugari Constituency, Kakamega County, was discovered on Friday morning, November 8, after a five-day search following his mysterious disappearance on November 3, 2025.
Shange had gone missing while reportedly on his way to collect examination papers for his students.
According to his wife, Salome Mukuna, he left their home at around 5:30 a.m. but never returned. His disappearance triggered a county-wide search involving police, local residents, and education officials.
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Days later, his vehicle was found crashed at the Muge black spot near Turbo along the Eldoret–Malaba Highway — a stretch notorious for accidents.
However, Shange was not found at the scene, deepening the mystery surrounding his fate.
On Friday, officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) retrieved his body from the Chekalini River, several kilometres from where the car was discovered.
Police confirmed that investigations into the circumstances leading to his death are underway.
Witnesses who viewed the body said it was partially decomposed, with some fingers missing, raising suspicions that the principal may have been tortured before being dumped into the river.
“I have confirmed it is Mwalimu. He must have been tortured before being thrown into the river. Some of his fingers were missing,” said Mr. Benson Muyanda, a colleague who helped identify the body.
Sources close to the late principal revealed that Shange had previously expressed fear for his life, claiming to have received death threats from individuals allegedly attempting to interfere with the management of the school.
The chilling revelation has sparked public outrage and calls for a thorough investigation into his death.
Local leaders, including ODM Director of Communications Philip Etale, have demanded that security agencies move swiftly to establish the truth behind the principal’s mysterious death.
“It had been our hope that the teacher would be found alive, perhaps in a hospital. How possible is it that an accident happened at one location, but his body is discovered kilometres away in a river?” Etale questioned, terming the incident “a well-calculated murder” disguised as an accident.
Kakamega County officials and the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) have also called for justice, urging the DCI to treat the case as a potential homicide rather than a traffic accident.
Residents of Lugari and members of the teaching fraternity have been left in disbelief, describing Shange as a dedicated educator and transformative leader who had turned Munyuki PAG Secondary School into one of the region’s top-performing institutions.
As investigations continue, police have appealed to the public to share any information that may help unravel the events leading to the principal’s disappearance and death.
The body of Simon Isiaho Shange was moved to a local mortuary as detectives pursue leads into what many now believe was a murder disguised as an accident.