A 24-year-old student at South Eastern Kenya University in Kitui has reportedly committed suicide over a school project.
Friends found her body dangling from the rafters of her bedsitter at Kwa Vonza Market in Kitui Rural.
“She killed herself over a project,” a student at the city only named Carol said.
She added: “During the presentation, a lecturer told her that she will not graduate over the project.”
Chacha, however, said there was no evidence that the girl killed herself because of school reasons.
Her suicide note only talked of life becoming unbearable.
“Dear mum and dad, [I am] sorry I had to do this. I love you guys so much, but I can’t take it any longer [sic]. Life has become unbearable. I cannot live like this anymore,” said the student in her letter.
The late was a Bachelor’s Degree course in Information Technology.
Comrades at the varsity took to social media where they eulogized her as ‘bubbly and full of life’.
Although the majority of people who have depression do not die by suicide, having major depression does increase suicide risk compared to people without depression. The risk of death by suicide may, in part, be related to the severity of the depression.
The number of suicides reported in Kenya rose by 58 per cent between 2008 and 2017 to reach 421, official data reveal.
Although the number of suicide cases has been rising since 2008, the data show the lowest incidents were recorded in 2010 at 75 cases.
The report also shows that more men are likely to commit suicide than women. Out of the 421 suicide cases in 2017, 330 involved men.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that close to 800,000 people commit suicide every year, which means one person every 40 seconds. Many more attempt suicide, WHO adds.
The World Population Review ranks Kenya at position 114 among 175 countries with the highest suicide rate.
The world Population Review in its survey states that Kenya’s suicide rate is at least 6.5 suicides per 100,000 people, a figure echoed by World Health Organisation.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth in the 15-29 age bracket.
Besides depression, other risk factors include access to firearms, physical or sexual abuse, unemployment, strained relationships, imprisonment, chronic physical illness, financial difficulties, loneliness and exposure to the suicidal behaviour of others.
BeFriends organisation’s advice on people with suicidal thoughts is that, you don’t need to act on your thoughts right now. The option of taking your own life isn’t going to go away.
You can make this decision tomorrow, next week or next month if you still want to. When you are feeling so bad that you want to take your own life, the thought of just getting through the next few days seem unbearable.
Try to focus on just getting through today and not the rest of your life. It may feel that the way you usually cope with these feelings is weaker today. You may not feel able to imagine getting through this.