Police arrest student for attempting suicide
Police in Mzimba have arrested a Form two student at Mnjiri Community Day secondary School for attempting to kill herself by hanging on Wednesday, March 7.
Mzimba Police spokesperson Gift Nyirongo identified the student as 17 year old Grace Nkhoma, of Chanthomba village, T/A Mmbelwa in the district.
Nyirongo said the suspect will be charged with the offence of attempting suicide contrary to section 229 of the penal code. The crime attracts a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment with hard labour.
Mzimba is one of the districts has high cases of suicide and murder. In 2010, Police registered 24 cases while 31 suicide cases were registered in 2011 alone.
Nyirongo said investigations revealed that the suspect stays with her siblings at Mzimba Boma as both her parents migrated to South Africa for greener pastures.
According to Nyirongo the parents recruited spies to monitor the behavior of their daughter and the spies numerous reports indicated that the girl was flirting with men at the family residence.
“The reports angered the parents who threatened to cut all educational support and this did not go down well with the suspect and she decided to end her life,” Nyirongo said.
The Police PRO said on the material day at around 08:00hrs, the suspect decided to commit suicide by hanging herself with a rope in her room but fortunately for her the rope broke and she fell down.
“Neighbors heard the sound of a falling object and later the groaning of a person. They rushed to the house and found the suspect lying on the ground with a rope round her neck. They untied her and rushed her to Mzimba District Hospital where she is admitted,” he said.
Meanwhile Police have facilitated the formation of Anti-suicide committee which comprises traditional and other influential leaders in the district who are mandated to help stem increasing cases of suicide and murder.
Last month Police in Mzimba sought divine intervention in response to spiraling cases of suicide, murder and sudden deaths that have become a common occurrence in the largely Ngoni district.
The Police partnered with Mzimba Pastors Fraternal, a grouping of mainly Pentecostal Churches, in trying to find solutions or reduce the frequency.
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