The final months of Rosemary Koech’s life were marked by growing tension over her marriage, money, property and the future of her children. At the centre of many of those concerns was her troubled relationship with her husband, Kevin Migwe Kimwatu, whom she had married in 2013.
Rosemary’s private journal, read by her sister during her memorial service in Kericho, gives an emotional account of a woman who felt increasingly frustrated by the life she had worked hard to build.
Although the journal did not mention Kevin by name in every entry, much of what she described happened during a period when their marriage was facing serious difficulties.
One of Rosemary’s biggest frustrations was the feeling that her hard work was no longer benefiting her or her children. She wrote about working hard on projects but being unable to enjoy the results. She also expressed concern that another person felt more entitled to what she had built.
For Rosemary, the issue appeared to go beyond money. She was worried about her home, her investments and how her children would be affected by the separation.
She feared that years of effort could be lost and that decisions over the family’s property could eventually leave her without control over what she had worked for.
By the final four months of her life, Rosemary was living separately from Kevin in Ngong together with their children. The separation came as the couple dealt with disagreements within their marriage.
Kevin later told the court that their marriage had generally been happy and that the two were in the process of reconciling.
He also said Rosemary had expressed a desire to return home and that he had agreed to her coming back. However, she never returned.
Rosemary’s account, as reflected in her journal and other records from the period, presents a much more difficult picture of the relationship. She appeared to feel that she had been taken for granted after investing heavily in the family and other projects.
Another account attributed to Rosemary was an email she wrote inside KCB in which she described her marriage as abusive. She also alleged that her estranged husband and her boss had attempted to have her committed to a mental health facility. Rosemary described the alleged move as a deep betrayal.
There were also disagreements over finances and domestic matters. Rosemary’s mother told investigators that Kevin had complained about Rosemary drinking and associating with people he considered unsuitable. According to the account, he had also talked about sending Rosemary and the children back to her parents.
For Rosemary, such disputes appear to have added to an already difficult situation. Her journal repeatedly returned to questions of security, ownership, family and her children’s future. She worried about co-parenting and feared losing the home she had worked to secure.
The contrast between the two accounts became particularly noticeable after her death. Kevin went to court seeking to stop the burial without his involvement and wanted Rosemary to be buried in Matasia. Her family, however, proceeded with the burial in Kericho.
The burial dispute attracted public attention, but Rosemary’s journal revealed a more personal struggle. Rather than focusing on the legal battle, the pages showed a woman trying to make sense of the pressures surrounding her.
She repeatedly reminded herself to remain strong and stoic despite what she was experiencing. She wrote about the things she had sacrificed for and the fear that she would not get the chance to enjoy the results with her children.
The entries also show that Rosemary felt betrayed by people she believed should have supported her. Her words suggest that the breakdown of her marriage had affected not only her relationship with Kevin but also her sense of security and confidence about the future.
Her sister later described depression as something that had killed Rosemary slowly. The journal provides a painful picture of that decline, showing how financial worries, family disagreements and the collapse of a relationship she had invested years in appeared to weigh heavily on her.
For those who knew Rosemary, the most painful part may be that she spent her final months worrying about things she had worked so hard to secure: her home, her investments, her children and her place in the family she had helped build.
The words she left behind now offer a glimpse into how deeply those struggles affected her. While Kevin described the marriage as largely happy and said the couple was trying to reconcile, Rosemary’s private writings reveal someone who felt increasingly frustrated, betrayed and uncertain about what would happen to the life she had worked so hard to create.
