Crimes of the week: Suicides, murders rise

This week has seen the trend of suicide cases rise as at least four cases were reported.

As police race to establish the motives of the cases, more and more people continue dying by suicide.

In one of the tragic incidents, a woman on Wednesday jumped to her death from the 19th floor of a popular high-rise building in Nairobi.

Police said they received a report that around 3:45 pm, Charity Muthoni Mutoi, aged 4,  jumped from the floor, from where she left her shoes, jacket, and mobile phone.

She fell on top of a tent erected on the ground floor, where she succumbed to the injuries.

Upon visiting the scene, police established that the deceased had visited her male friend who does a printing business on the ground floor.

As they were taking tea, she excused herself but in a short while her friend received a message from her that she had decided to commit suicide, police said.

The body was moved to the Nairobi Funeral Home (Formerly City Mortuary), while the motive is yet to be established

In another case, police on Monday said a 52-year-old man died by suicide by hanging himself on a tree, at a thicket along the Dagoretti-Kikuyu railways.

Upon visiting the scene, the police established that the deceased had hanged himself using a white sisal knit rope.

He had left a suicide note, whose content had not been made public.

The body was moved to the St Teresa morgue awaiting postmortem.

In another suicide case, a Grade 5 pupil, aged 12, committed suicide by hanging himself using a shoelace in Bungoma.

Police officers visited the scene and confirmed the same.

Police said no suicide note was recovered.

The body was moved to Bungoma County Referral Hospital mortuary for preservation awaiting autopsy.

In yet another case, police in Makueni were on Tuesday informed of a suicide incident

After visiting the scene, the officer found a 14-year-old high school student hanging with a sisal rope around her neck tied to a timber at the roof.

The body was moved to the Sultan Hamud sub-county hospital mortuary awaiting autopsy.

The World Health Organisation estimates that 703,000 people die by suicide each year, making it the fourth leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29.

WHO 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.

OTHER CASES

Besides suicides, the country has suffered other criminal activities, including the lynching of two mechanics who were found siphoning fuel from vehicles in a facility in Ruai, Nairobi.

Police said the two were employees at the facility and were Monday afternoon accused of siphoning fuel from cars parked there to sell.

This prompted some of the workers there to raise an alarm, which led to the attack on the two, by beating.

They died at the scene.

In another case, a middle-aged man is on the run after he reportedly stabbed and killed his girlfriend in a suspected love triangle saga in the Kasarani area, Nairobi.

The body of the woman was found in a pool of blood in the man’s house.

He is the son of a known landlord, police said of the Friday night November 1 incident.

The body was moved to the mortuary awaiting autopsy and probe.

Police said they are looking for a known suspect and hope to get him soon.