Police in Kisumu city are investigating an incident where a prominent contractor on Thursday morning committed suicide by jumping from the second floor of the Lake Basin mall in Kisumu Central Business District (CBD).
Confirming the incident, Kisumu Central Deputy Police Commander (OCPD) Mr Bakari Mdogo Ndungiri said the deceased whom the family has identified as engineer Juma Hannington Raburu had indicated in an entrance book at the gate he was visiting Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) offices located in the same building.
But in a strange twist of events, he took the keys of his Toyota V8 which he had parked in the building and handed them over to the watchman and instructed him that his son named Tobias would come to pick up the car.
The deceased then climbed the stairs to the second floor of the building where the KRA offices are situated before a loud bang was heard. People rushed to the scene only to find the body of the deceased lying in a pool of blood.
There was no suicide note left behind by the deceased a renowned road contractor in the city. His body was moved to Agha Khan Hospital mortuary pending postmortem and further investigation into the incident as the family prepares for the burial.
About 720,000 suicide deaths and 14 million attempted suicide cases are reported globally every year. In Kenya an average of four deaths and nearly 500 incidents of attempted suicides are reported to police daily. The actual numbers are likely much higher due to unreported incidents.
During this year’s celebration of the International Day of Suicide, held every September 10, Head of the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for shifting the narrative on the suicide issue to challenge harmful myths, reduce stigma and foster compassionate conversations.
In Kenya, human rights activists have been calling for a change of law to stop the country from charging people who attempt suicide with attempted murder arguing that this action stems from mental sickness and such people should be helped instead of being charged in court.
In 2021, the last year for which data was gathered by WHO on suicide, it was listed as the third leading cause of death among 15- to 29 – year- olds globally. Close to three-quarters of global suicides that year occurred in low- and middle-income countries. The average number of suicides across the world was 8.9 per 100,000 people.
By Mabel Keya-Shikuku
