Shock as Budaka woman commits suicide

Police in Budaka District are investigating circumstances under which Bujasi Village resident Doreen Kataike,30, reportedly committed suicide by hanging.

According to police, Kataike had on August 31 informed her family about plans to divorce her husband due to domestic issues.

From her ancestral home in Budaka District’s Bwase ward, the deceased the deceased went back to her marital home in Bujasi Village on the same day.

“At around 6:30pm, her body was seen by children- hanging by a rope tied on a mango tree,” North Bukedi regional police spokesperson, ASP Immaculate Alaso told Monitor on Wednesday.

“The cause of her death still remains a mystery,” ASP Alaso added noting that the body was found hanging about 100metres away from the deceased’s house.  

Police said Kataike’s husband had gone to see his mother in Butebo District at the time she committed suicide.

“Police was notified by a local leader and quickly visited and documented the scene.  

By press time, the body had been taken to Mbale City mortuary for postmortem on Wednesday evening.  

According to a Ministry of Health survey, conducted among 4,660 adults in 14 Ugandan districts, 15% of respondents had tried to commit suicide and 12% had done so within one year prior to the 2016 survey.

However, the actual number is even thought to be bigger.

“The cultural attitudes towards suicide contribute to the difficulties of obtaining data,” the survey showed.

In most Ugandan communities, suicide is a taboo. A person who hangs himself or herself is usually denied a decent burial.