The tech and banking world in Kenya is mourning the loss of Rosemary Chemutai Koech, a senior figure at KCB Bank Group, who died on August 21, 2026, at her home in the Ole Nairi area of Ngong, Kajiado County. She was 40.
Following an autopsy conducted by Chief Government Pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor, authorities determined that her death was a suicide. Family members have since shared that Koech had been quietly grappling with difficulties in her marriage as well as financial pressure, including stress tied to debt repayment she was managing.
A Career Built on Policy and Digital Rights
Koech’s professional path spanned law, technology policy, and data protection — fields where she became a respected and influential voice. She began at KCB in June 2022 as the bank’s Data Protection Officer, and by June 2023 had been promoted to Head of Data Protection, a role in which she led compliance efforts across the Group. Before joining KCB, she spent time at Safaricom as a Public Policy Manager, and earlier still held various legal and regulatory positions within Kenya’s tech sector.
Beyond her corporate roles, Koech was deeply embedded in the region’s internet governance community. She served on the board of the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), acted as Principal of the Kenya School of Internet Governance, and chaired multistakeholder advisory groups supporting both the Kenya and East Africa Internet Governance Forums.
KICTANet was among the organizations that publicly honored her, noting her significant contributions to advancing technology policy, internet governance, and digital rights across the region.
A Loss Felt Widely
Koech’s death leaves a gap felt by her family, her colleagues at KCB, and the broader community of digital rights advocates and technology policy experts she worked alongside for years. Colleagues and peers have described her as a steady and important presence in shaping how Kenya and the region think about data protection and digital governance.