Six year old commits suicide
A six-year-old girl in Bweyogerere Central zone, Kira Municipality has committed suicide protesting a decision by her father to take her to a village school.
The deceased (names withheld) was found dead by neighbours on Wednesday at home hanging on a piece of cloth she tied on the Decker bed in her room. The locals allege that on that fateful day, the deceased did not show up to play with other children like she usually does. They say this prompted them to hunt for her at her residence only to find her hanging.
Prior to the incident, the deceased was vending foodstuff alongside her grandmother Asula Nakafu, in Bweyogerere market. However when schools reopened the father identified as Samuel Ssetyabule approached her with a decision to her to return to their village in Buikwe District to resume studies to which she childishly objected.
The grandmother, Nakafu, claims that her granddaughter confided in her that she wasn’t willing to return to the village to study, and that her father had threatened to beat her if she refused.
“She told me she wasn’t going back to study from the village, and that her father was rude. she said she wanted to remain with me but I did not take it seriously,” Nakafu said.
Locals have however accused the father of using unnecessary outrage on the minor to force her back to school. They allege that Ssetyabule beat his daughter and threatened worse if she didn’t return to the school of his choice, instead of having a peaceful discussion with her.
Six year old commits suicide
A Police officer in the child and protection unit at Bweyogerere police says such suicidal cases in minors are a result of depression resulting from domestic violence in families, and others come from watching harmful content in movies and social media.
A similar incident happened on Monday, when a senior four student of Makerere College School committed suicide over change of school.
The deceased is Emmanuel Okello, a senior four student at Makerere College School and a resident of Parliament village- Kitukutwe, Kiwologoma, Kira Municipality, Wakiso District.
The deceased locked his father identified as Moses Opio, in the house before he committed suicide outside.
Prior to his death Okello asked his father to send him back to his old school instead of admitting him into a new school but Opio didn’t listen. He says Okello waited for Opio to take his siblings to school to commit the gruesome act on his life.
A World Health Organisation-WHO, states that close to 800,000 people die by suicide every year, and for each death, there are more than 20 suicide attempts.
