More than 10 cases of suicide have been recorded between December 2019 and early January 2020, according to records by the area Police. The latest incident involved Charles Amone, 45, a resident of Barlajwa village, Luna Parish in Pader Town Council who died on Monday after taking poison.
Aswa River Region Police is distressed
by rampant cases of suicide, a number of which have been linked to frustration.
More than 10 cases of suicide
have been recorded between December 2019 and early January 2020, according to
records by the area Police. The latest incident involved Charles Amone, 45, a
resident of Barlajwa village, Luna Parish in Pader Town Council who died on
Monday after taking poison.
Residents say that Amone’s action
was ignited by the departure of his wife, a mother of seven who eloped with
another man. His death brought to four, the number of suicide deaths recorded
by police in Pader District. Two of the cases were reported in Laguti
sub-county and the third in Pajule sub-county.
On January 1, Walter Opira, 43, a
Boda-boda rider and resident of Go-Down Sub-Ward in Layibi Division of Gulu
Municipality drunk herbicides and died after pleading in vain for his wife to
return when she left. Prior to that, four other cases were reported in Bardege
Division and Ogul village, Paicho sub-county in Gulu district.
On December 30, Isaac Mbayo, a
suspect charged for allegedly stealing 2.8 million Shillings and a smartphone
worth one million Shillings from an unsuspecting woman at Elegu Town Council in
Amuru district also committed suicide by hanging in a police cell. Another
suicide case was reported in mid-December in Koro Abili village, Koro
sub-county in Omoro district after an unidentified man was discovered hanging
on a tree branch by residents, according to the area LCI Chairperson Cyrus
Okot.
Patrick Jimmy Okema, the Aswa
River Region Police Spokesperson told URN on Monday that their findings show
that many of the cases are a result of frustration arising out of domestic
violence, poverty and inability to deal with stress.
//Cue in; "It is true...
Cue out…...living HIV
positive."//
Okema asserted that domestic
violence has been precipitating suicide incidences for the last three years from
2016 to 2019, claiming more than 120 lives in the region. He appealed to
individuals faced with life challenges to share them out with their loved ones.
//Cue in; "Let us learn...
Cue out...we can avoid."//
He also appealed to various
stakeholders including security, the Church, local leaders and Civil Society
Organizations (CSOs) to engage the masses through psycho-social support at various
levels to avert the vice.
//Cue in; "It is also
upon...
Cue out...that we
get."//
According to the 2018 Police
Annual Crime Report, Aswa region comprising of eight districts of Gulu, Amuru,
Kitgum, Lamwo, Agago, Nwoya, Omoro and Pader registered the highest number of
Domestic Violence related deaths with 55 cases, followed by North Kyoga with 48
cases and Rwizi with 31 cases among others.
The highest number was in Amuru where
16 lives were lost, followed by Oyam with 14 cases, Arua with 12 cases, while Kole
and Agago registered 11 cases each. The districts of Mbarara, Gulu and Ntungamo
registered 10 cases each.
In 2014, Uganda ranked number 17
among countries with high suicide cases, according to the World Health
Organization. The organization revealed that suicide is a serious public health
concern in the country with over 18 per 100,000 deaths resulting from
suicide.
Ochola's journalism career begun from Radio King 90.2 FM in Gulu around 2009, and Radio Rupiny 95.7 Fm under Vision Group in 2012. He also reported for Mighty Fire 91.5 Fm, Kitgum in 2015 before joining Wizarts Foundation in 2017.
He has been reporting for Uganda Radio Network (URN) since 2017 before being posted as Bureau Chief Kitgum, and latr Gulu between 2018 - 2021. Currently, he reports from Parliament.
