Pregnant senior six student hangs self
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Her body which was found hanging in her room at their home in Bukomolo village, Kadatuni Parish, Katira Sub-County in Budaka district was taken to Mbale City Mortuary for postmortem
Police in Budaka District are investigating the circumstances under which a 20-year-old student at Budini Secondary School in Kaliro District died.
Kolovina Naisiga, a senior six student reportedly died by suicide by hanging on Sunday at around 9 pm.
Her body which was found hanging in her room at their home in Bukomolo village, Kadatuni Parish, Katira Sub-County in Budaka district was taken to Mbale City Mortuary for postmortem.
The acting Bukedi North regional police spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Samuel Semewo, said that detectives are yet to ascertain the circumstances that might have triggered Naisiga to hang herself.
He later said police preliminary investigations indicated that the deceased was pregnant.
At around 9 pm, Naisiga (the deceased) entered her room to read her books while her mother was preparing supper. As soon as supper was ready, Naisiga's mother sent her younger brother to call her. He called her sister but in vain until he decided to peek through the window and saw her hanging on a rope in her room,” Mr Semewo said.
The mother was alerted and made an alarm which attracted people.
The report was made to the police by Mr Tom Bulabale, 65, a father of the deceased.
“Police immediately reached the scene, and removed the lifeless body of the deceased. Documented the scene of the crime, recorded statements, and the body was conveyed to the mortuary for postmortem,” he said.
A teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity said Naisiga has been a bright and disciplined girl without any known history of misconduct or tendencies to yield to misleading peer groups within the school and they were shocked about the news.
Ms Mary Gimono, a retired health worker, said there should be counselling sessions for children; sometimes it is not good to assume that every child at home or school is happy.
“Let our learners speak out on any issues that bother them so that they get professional counselling, and also appeal to parents and leaders of schools to have an account of students’ behavior,” Ms Gimono said.
Ms Stella Acham, a mental health advocate, said people commit suicide not because they are facing peculiar situations. But depression and feelings are the causes of suicide.
“The numbers of reported suicide cases are higher as some suicide-related deaths are not reported for fear of incriminating them for murder. Several myths need to be broken as far as mental health is concerned,” Ms Acham said.
According to a retired Psychiatrist, Mr Simon Peter Owori, 90 percent of suicides are as a result of mental disorders, and of these, depression is the most common, accounting for about 70 percent.
He also attributes the cause of suicidal thoughts to alcoholism, bipolar, and other substance misuse. Other causes include domestic violence, problems with social networks, and sad events in life.
The rest of the cases of suicidal behaviors, Mr Owori says, are due to stress in daily life, problems in relationships, unemployment, poverty, job loss, and chronic health conditions.
“People should start sharing their challenges with friends instead of committing suicide and parents should counsel their children especially about the dangers of suicide.
A total of 4,043 cases of Homicide were reported to Police by the end of 2022 compared to 3,912 cases reported in 2021, giving a 3.3 percent increase in Homicide cases registered countrywide.
