11-year-old boy hangs self over fear for punishment
Stunned locals of Bugana Village watch after the remains of the boy were discovered by his brother on December 7. PHOTO/GERTRUDE MUTYABA
What you need to know:
- “We are still investigating but what we have realized is that the boy hanged himself following what had happened last night,” Bukomansimbi District Police Commander (DPC) Christine Namawuba said.
Police in Bukomansimbi District are investigating circumstances under which an 11-year-old boy hanged himself –to death- on a tree over fear for punishment.
The incident happened on Tuesday at around 10am. The deceased was identified by his family as Najibu Ssembaawa, a resident of Bugana Village, Butenga Sub-county in Bukomansimbi district.
According to the Bugana Village chairperson Mr John Mivule, they first suspected that the boy was killed by someone not until police made a major finding during preliminary investigations.
"Residents tried to do mob justice on the house of the deceased's mother hoping that the person who committed the offence was inside but we managed to calm them down," Mr Mivule told this publication.
According to the deceased's brother, “their mother Ms Safinah Nanfuka left them home Monday night and then Ssembaawa torched the house using a locally developed lighting tool called ‘tadooba’.” This, he says, led to burning of a section of the bedroom.
The brother who preferred anonymity said their mother directly went to the bedroom which caught fire upon returning home Tuesday morning.
“I moved towards the kitchen and later attended to the goats. That’s when I saw the shirt that Ssembaawa was wearing in the morning. I drew closer and saw him dead with a rope around his neck,” he claimed.
"He feared to be punished by mum because he was the cause of the fire outbreak and decided to hang himself without our knowledge," the deceased's brother said.
According to the LC3 Chairperson for Butenga Mr Leonard Kagimu, parents have not done enough to groom their children.
“Parents should stop being harsh towards their children because if the mother wasn’t rude to this child, he wouldn’t have killed himself,” he opined.
The Bukomansimbi District Police Commander (DPC) Christine Namawuba advised parents to follow up their children in everything to avoid such acts.
“We are still investigating but what we have realized is that the boy hanged himself following what had happened last night,” DPC Namawuba said.
Residents have condemned the act saying many children practice what they see in films.
