- There were 174 cases of suicide reported in 2020 as compared to 196 in 2019, 302 in 2018, 421 in 2017 and 302 in 2016.
- The majority of the victims were male, police reports say.
Image: STAR
Police are investigating the discovery of a decomposing body on a tree after suspected suicide in a village in Mandera County.
This is the latest suicide incident to be reported in a series amid calls to address the menace linked to trauma.
Police said they are yet to identify the body of the man after the incident in the Burabor location.
The decomposing body was found hanging from the tree with a shirt tied around the neck on September 11 evening, police said.
Detectives said they have not established if the man died by suicide or was killed and hanged there.
The body was moved to the mortuary pending identification and autopsy.
In the Kasarani area, Nairobi, the body of one Moses Njoroge, 34 was found dangling on the stair grills in a suspected suicide case.
Police who visited the scene said a synthetic rope was tied around the neck.
The motive of the Tuesday incident is yet to be established. Police said they are investigating the incident.
Cases of suicide have been on the rise with police recording up to seven incidents a week.
There were 174 cases of suicide reported in 2020 as compared to 196 in 2019, 302 in 2018, 421 in 2017 and 302 in 2016. The majority of the victims were male, police reports say.
The World Health Organization says such cases are attributed to joblessness, death, academic failures or pressures, legal difficulties and financial difficulties.
Other reasons are bullying, previous suicide attempts, history of suicide in a family, alcoholism and substance misuse, depression and bipolar disorder.
WHO rates suicide as a serious global public health issue that is among the top 20 leading causes of death worldwide.
Globally, close to 800,000 people die of suicide every year with an estimated 78 per cent of cases occurring in low and middle-income countries.
Kenya ranks position 114 among the 175 countries with the highest suicide rates.
Kenya is in the process of putting up a National Suicide Prevention Strategy and Programme (2021-2026), in line with the WHO guidelines.