New details surrounding the death of KCB executive Rosemary Chemutai Koech Kimwatu put her troubled marriage at the centre of the events preceding her death, with people close to her family pointing to prolonged domestic and financial conflicts with her husband.
Rosemary, 40, is found dead at a house in Ngong, Kajiado County, on August 21, 2026.
A post-mortem examination conducted at Lee Funeral Home by Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor establishes suicide as the cause of death.
The finding confirms how Rosemary dies, but does not determine the circumstances or pressures that lead to her final decision.
Marriage turns difficult
Rosemary’s marriage of more than 20 years had four children and, according to the family account given to investigators, had become deeply strained before her death.
Her husband, Kimwatu, is at the centre of the family’s concerns over what happened in the final months of her life.
People close to Rosemary say she carries a significant financial burden within the marriage, including supporting her husband’s business activities and contributing to the construction of their family home.
The home is built on her husband’s ancestral land, with Rosemary using borrowed money to finance the construction.
The late Rosemary Koech. Photo/Screengrab by Kenya Digest
The financial burden does not end there. She continues servicing the loan even after leaving the matrimonial home.
Thrown out of home
The breakdown in the marriage eventually leaves Rosemary living away from the matrimonial home.
Her family says she is forced to leave the house she helped build and settles in a rented home near her parents in Ngong.
Her personal belongings later arrive at her parents’ home packed in four sacks.
The episode becomes one of the painful points in the family’s account of the marriage, with Rosemary having invested heavily in a home she no longer lives in.
Her mother and Rosemary later return to the matrimonial home to collect additional belongings but encounter hostility from her husband and his mother.
The family says they are ordered to leave and warned against returning.
Her husband also threatens to mobilise boda boda riders against Rosemary’s mother, according to the family’s account given to investigators.
Money becomes a source of conflict
Financial pressure also features prominently in the account of Rosemary’s final months.
A view of a building displaying the KCB logo prominently above the entrance. Photo: Tuko Source: Facebook.
A person close to the family says Rosemary puts money into businesses associated with her husband and carries financial responsibilities that become increasingly difficult.
The same source puts the amount being sought for her husband’s political ambitions at Ksh130 million, with the money said to be intended to support a bid for a Senate seat.
There is no independent confirmation that Ksh130 million is actually demanded or that any money is transferred for that purpose.
The financial dispute is nevertheless part of the broader picture the family presents about the marriage.
Rosemary seeks treatment
The family also describes a period when Rosemary’s mental health deteriorates.
After travelling to Mombasa for a professional seminar where she is due to make a presentation connected to KCB, she becomes distressed and begins behaving unusually.
Her siblings travel to Mombasa and take her for medical attention.
She spends about a week at Chiromo Hospital in Nyali before being transferred to Tranquil Medical Centre, where she stays for another period.
She is diagnosed with depression.
After discharge, Rosemary moves closer to her parents in Ngong and continues her recovery while staying with her four children.
Final conversation
The events of the night before Rosemary’s death remain a key part of the investigation.
The house manager says Rosemary speaks to her husband on the telephone after the children also talk to their father.
She then goes to her bedroom while still on the call and locks the door.
The following morning, she does not respond when the house manager calls her phone or knocks on the bedroom door.
Relatives are eventually contacted and the bedroom door is opened.
Rosemary is found dead inside.
Police recover her phone and continue investigating the events surrounding her final hours.
Her husband gives investigators a different picture of their relationship at the time.
He says their final conversation is about reconciliation and that the two are discussing plans for Rosemary to return to the matrimonial home.
Parents defend KCB
As attention shifts to Rosemary’s marriage, her parents make clear that they do not blame KCB for what happens to their daughter.
In a statement, they say the bank gives Rosemary the space and support she needs to thrive in her career.
They also say KCB stands with the family during her illness and after her death.
“Whatever narratives are going on does not represent the family stand and we wish to be allowed to mourn our dear child in peace,” the parents say.
The statement separates the family’s position from narratives suggesting that workplace pressure contributes to Rosemary’s death.
For now, the post-mortem establishes suicide as the cause of death, while police continue examining the circumstances surrounding it.
The accusations concerning Rosemary’s marriage remain unresolved, and no court has established that her husband caused her death. What emerges from the family’s account, however, is a picture of a long and difficult marital conflict that forms an important part of the story of Rosemary’s final months.