Grade 4 Pupil In Kirinyaga Commits Suicide

Residents of Kirinyaga County have expressed alarm over the increase in child suicides after a 10-year-old kid killed himself in Kibingoti Village in Ndia Sub County.

The fourth-grader from Kibingoti village is thought to have hanged himself.

The boy's body was found on Tuesday night after he was first seen digging a ditch, according to his grandmother Rose Nyambura Ritho.

“I am still in shock because he was very happy yesterday. I had even bought new clothes for him for the New Year celebrations…little did I know it was the last day to see him alive,” Nyambura explained.

She claimed the youngster had not given any indications of suicide and was content, but shortly after his death, they found evidence suggesting he may have been creating his own ditch-shaped burial.

“He had dug a big ditch, the size of a grave, outside our compound and when I asked him, he told me it was for planting banana stems. I advised him there was an electric pole around and he covered it and demanded to be shown another site…we found his lifeless body last night at around 7 pm.”

Moses Koskei, the commander of the Ndia Sub-County Police, acknowledged the occurrence and stated that an inquiry was in progress.

He echoed the neighbours’ comments that there had been many occurrences like this throughout the county.

As they recalled three recent incidents that occurred within the last three months, residents expressed fear about similar events.