A 24 year old man from Ngelani village, Mutituni location, Machakos Sub County is the latest victim of suicide after he was found hanging inside his house.
The body of the deceased was discovered last night by curious neighbours after they got suspicious over his whereabouts.
Area assistant chief Noel Kilonzo told the press the motive behind the tragic incident is still unknown but police have launched investigations into the matter.
Kilonzo is now appealing to the youth to be opening up about their challenges to friends, relatives and religious leaders instead of resorting to taking their own lives.
He also advised the youth to refrain from destructive indulgencies such as substance abuse and alcoholism.
“Young people should seek for solutions to their problems from religious leaders instead of resorting to committing suicide. Drug abuse and alcoholism is also a big contributor to the problem of suicide incidences in this country and we should advise our people against falling prey into the vice,” he said.
His demise comes barely a week after another man took his life similarly by hanging himself inside his house in Misakwani Primary School, Mumbuni location, Machakos central sub county.
The body of Michael Musau, the head teacher at Kyambuko Primary School was found on Tuesday last week dangling by a rope in his house at Misakwani village, Mumbuni location.
According to Misakwani sub location assistant Chief Christine Musau, the deceased believed to be in his early 40s was found by fellow teachers after they became suspicious when he failed to report to work.
The administrator said the teacher did not leave any suicide note behind and it was not yet clear what led him to take his life.
Police who arrived at the scene hours later only found an undisclosed amount of money stuffed inside an envelope and the victim’s cell phone.
The number of suicide cases in Machakos has been on an upward trajectory since last year in a trend that has baffled all and sundry.
In July this year the body of a 35 year old woman was found hanging from the roof of a bar in Kivaa market, Masinga Sub County, Machakos County.
The body of the woman who was the proprietor of the bar was discovered by her workers as they were reporting to work.
The incident was confirmed by Masinga sub county Police boss Francis Siror.
Late last month, a 42 –year-old man committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree at his home in Kaewa village, in the same sub county.
The body of the deceased who was said to be of unstable mind was discovered by a Census enumerator who had visited the home of the victim.
Area assistant chief Josphat Muli who confirmed the incident said they were yet to unravel the reason why the man chose to end his life but confirmed he was mentally disturbed.
In November last year, barely four months after taking over as Machakos County Commissioner, Mr Abdullahi Hiddi raised a red flag at the number of suicide cases that were being reported in his office on a weekly basis.
The county administrator said the rate at which people were taking their lives in the area was not only alarming but chilling.
He said the number of suicides being reported to his office on a daily basis at the time were unacceptably high and portended a real drawback to the county’s development agenda.
A 2017 World Health Global Health Report estimates that a total of 788,000 people committed suicide in 2015 alone.
In the same year at least 422 Kenyans are reported to have committed suicide according to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics translating to a 58 per cent rise as compared in 2008.
By Samuel Maina and Rachael Kilonzo
