Principal commits suicide in church

By George Olwenya
Worshipers got a rude shock and were forced to suspend their Sunday service when they found a body hanging inside the church.
The Kit Nyasaye church at Komenya Kowala village in West Alego, Siaya District, was turned into a mourning venue as villagers waited for police to remove the body of a secondary school deputy principal who committed suicide inside the church.
The Kero Siret Secondary School teacher in Nandi District had not been seen at his rural home for the last two years.
Residents suspected the body could have been in the church for several days without people detecting it because people go there only on Sundays.
Siaya OCPD Stephen Cheteka said the 43-year-old hanged himself inside the church behind the door and did not leave a suicide note.
"His pair of shoes were neatly placed beside a mat and we think he prayed before committing suicide," said an eyewitness.
Next to the mat was a chair, which villagers believe he used to tie the rope on the roof beam and kicked it after putting the rope round his neck.
The pastor had gone early to open the church and prepare for the service when he bumped into the body.
He is said to have opened the door halfway and first saw a pair of shoes on a papyrus mat.
He thought one of the worshipers had come early to pray and he went ahead to greet him Opak Yesu (Praise the Lord), but there was no answer.
He then pushed the door further and stretched out his hand to greet the man only to realise it was a body hanging from a rope. He ran out to alert residents.
Word spread in the village and people, including relatives of the deceased gathered.
What shocked them is that the deceased, donning a light blue shirt and a black jacket, had not been seen in his rural home which is several metres from the church.
How he sneaked into the village and hanged himself in the church without anybody noticing remains a mystery.
"How can he come home after staying away for so long and just hang himself without even visiting any of his relatives who are here?" a relative wondered.
Onyango Andem, who was among the first people to reach the scene, said nobody has prayed in the church since the incident happened.
"I have been having sleepless nights because we knew the deceased and never expected him to do such a thing," said Andem.
The OCPD said the body had no physical injuries before it was retrieved and taken to Siaya District Hospital mortuary.