Omoro man found hanging dead in church
Suicide survivors from Koro sub-county in Omoro district marching against sachet waragi in 2016. PHOTO/JAMES OWICH
What you need to know:
- Opiyo had reportedly been running away, fearing for his life from those he believed were pursuing him.
Grief engulfed residents of Laminlyaka Cell, Omoro Town Council in Omoro District, after a 27-year-old man was found dead, hanging from a rope inside a local church.
The deceased, identified as Solomon Opiyo, was discovered on March 24 evening around 7 pm by his mother.
According to a preliminary police investigation report, Opiyo had become restless after visiting his mother, who lives in the area with her second husband. Police say his mother had remarried after leaving her marital home, which deeply disturbed the young man. He later became violent and expressed fears that unnamed individuals were after his life.
"It’s alleged that in 2024, the deceased followed his mother to her second marriage home and started staying with her. On March 23, 2025, the deceased started behaving like a person with mental problems. His mother asked the deceased if he had any problem. He, however, told his mother that he was being followed by some people armed with machetes," the police report reads.
Several attempts by his mother to convince him to return home were unsuccessful. He reportedly insisted that he was still praying. According to his mother, she had stepped out to seek help from a church minister to calm him down when Opiyo took his own life inside Yesu En Yoo PAG Church.
Opiyo had reportedly been running away, fearing for his life from those he believed were pursuing him.
Mr David Ongom Mudong, the Aswa West Regional Police Spokesperson, confirmed that the deceased was a known member of the church where his body was found.
Mental health experts have attributed the rising suicide cases in the formerly war-affected region to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Acholi Sub-region, which was once the epicenter of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency, is still grappling with the psychological aftermath of the war.
As resettled communities struggle to rebuild their lives, they face increasing cases of suicide, rampant land sales, and a high cost of living.
In Koro Sub-county, Omoro District, a recent local government report revealed that Lapainat East Parish alone recorded 17 suicide cases over the last 12 years. Of the 56 total suicide cases in the sub-county, 80 percent were adult males.
Meanwhile, a 2006 study by Gulu University researchers, conducted as the LRA insurgency was winding down, revealed that 62 percent of people in the Acholi Sub-region suffered from mental health problems, particularly PTSD.
Mr Isaac Ogwal, a clinical psychologist, noted that cultural expectations placed on men contribute significantly to the high suicide rates.
"Ego, especially among young men, is to blame for the rampant suicide cases in the Acholi Sub-region. Culture teaches men to face their problems without sharing with anyone, making them vulnerable to mental disorders, which is the main trigger of suicide," Mr Ogwal said.
Since the beginning of this year, 13 suicide cases have been reported in the Acholi Sub-region. Police reports indicate that most suicide cases in the area are linked to domestic violence, land conflicts, terminal illness, and substance abuse.
