Suicides leave trail of misery in Nyandarua

By Antony Gitonga

It is early morning and birds are chirping happily to welcome a new dawn. Gitiri village, a quiet hamlet in Kinangop, Nyandarua, is rising for another lazy day.

But soon, villagers gather to a homestead, each eager to know the cause of death of another middle-aged man, Nyota Kihiko. Inside the house, his lifeless body is sprawled on the floor, his neck twisted in a grotesque position.

Next to the body is a small metal container. It has remnants of a deadly pesticide, and the cause of death is all too obvious: suicide. As it turns out, he had fallen out with his wife over a Sh700 dispute.

As burial preparations begin, a pastor who had fallen out with his wife in Machinery village torches his mother-in-law’s house. He then locks himself in his new vehicle and sets it ablaze. By the time rescuers arrive, only ashes and charred bones remain.

Cases of suicide have become too common in Nyandarua. Those who have been following up the matter say at least three cases of attempted suicides are reported every week in the agriculture rich area. A majority is taking their lives by swallowing deadly chemicals, especially pesticides.

Information obtained at North Kinangop Catholic Hospital paints a worrying picture. Between June 2011 and January this year, 71 cases of attempted suicide were reported in the facility.

Of this number, eight died while undergoing treatment. The numbers are higher as many others die before reaching hospital.

Young men

Some cases are reported to Naivasha District Hospital, which is the only government facility that serves many residents of Nyandarua. Incidentally, many of the victims are young men in their 20s.

Mr Michael Munene, an official of Aids Reality Awareness Campaign Drug Abuse Prevention and Sanitation, terms the problem as very serious.

He said the organisation is recording between three to four cases of attempted suicide every week in Nyandarua County.

"Majority of the victims are young men. Evidence shows they mostly commit suicide when drunk," said Munene.

The organisation, which assists in rehabilitating drugs users and alcoholics, points at Gitiri village in Engineer as one of the most affected by the spate of suicide attempts.

According to Munene many of the victims are newly married men who realise that they cannot bring up their families.

"We have seen cases of small boys taking their lives mainly in December if they are barred from getting circumcised," he added.

He said alcohol, poverty and lack of jobs appear to have conspired to send young people to early graves. "Some of the cases of attempted suicide are not reported due to the stigma now associated with the issue and shame to the family of the victim," said Munene.

According to the superintendent in charge Naivasha District Hospital, Dr Joseph Mburu, the facility handles cases of attempted suicides from Nyandarua.

Stress related

He admits that the high cases are of concern to them as majority involve the youth, mainly from Kinangop area.

The official said the suicides appear to be stress related.

The doctor says that at times, the facility treats up to three cases per week of suicide attempts from the Kinangop region.

"In many cases the victims have survived but in some extreme cases, they have died on arrival or during treatment," he added.

Mburu attributed the high number of cases to poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, peer pressure and mental sickness.

Former area MP Waithaka Mwangi admits that cases of suicide are on the increase and attributes it to poverty and unemployment.