Mabirizi Complex suicide survivor convicted, sentenced

Mustapha Lule (with bandaged arm), his mother Hamatu Namakula (2nd left) and well-wishers at the their home in Kagoma Lukadde, Kawempe Division in Kampala. Courtesy photo

What you need to know:

  • Suicide incidents by people squeezed by economic hardship have triggered political unrests that have toppled governments.
  • In 2014, Annet Ashaba, 26, returned from Dubai only to find out that she had been cheated of her earnings she had been sending to a relative in Uganda to build for her a house.

KAMPALA. The 17-year-old boy

VIDEO: Man falls from the rooftop of Mabirizi Complex

A man in his late twenties has this afternoon fallen from the rooftop of Mabirizi Complex in the city Centre

a five-storey structure in Kampala city, has been convicted of attempted suicide and sentenced to a caution.
This means Mustapha Lule will not go to jail.

Lule’s case was heard in the chambers of Ms Gladys Kamasanyu, a magistrate at Buganda Road Chief Magistrate’s Court on Friday.
Mr James Alemi, a well-wisher and owner of a Land Rover garage in Najjera who accompanied Lule to the court, said the magistrate ordered Lule to be rehabilitated first.
“I am happy about the court decision. We have left the court. I will train Lule to become a mechanic like me when he is done with the rehabilitation,” Mr Alemi said.
On September 3, Lule jumped off the complex and landed on a car. Lule later said he had lost his job and was left dejected. His touched the hearts of many people including Alemi, who has since been following up the case.

On Tuesday, police detectives arrested and detained Lule after allowing him weeks to recuperate. He was charged with attempted suicide, which is a misdemeanour punishable by a two-year imprisonment upon conviction.
Despite a touching story that led Lule to attempt suicide, police insisted on prosecuting him to send a deterrent message to others who might contemplate similar plans.
Since Lule’s incident, two more people have attempted to commit suicide by jumping off multi-storey city buildings.
One of those suicide survivors was found to be suffering mental illness and he had been undergoing treatment at Butabika hospital.

Suicide incidents by people squeezed by economic hardship have triggered political unrests that have toppled governments.
In 2010, Tarek el-Tayeb Mohamed Bouazizi, a fruit vendor in Tunisia, set himself on fire when city officials confiscated his merchandise.
His actions sparked off protests in Arab countries leading to the fall of three regimes.

Woman jumps to death at Workers House

A young woman jumped from the 14th floor at Workers House and crashed to death on Saturday morning after she found she had been fleeced of money she had sent home from Dubai where she had been working

returned from Dubai only to find out that she had been cheated of her earnings she had been sending to a relative in Uganda to build for her a house.
She jumped off the 14th floor of Workers House on Kampala Road and crashed to death.