A 39-year-old local farmer in Orapwoyo village, Binya parish in Omoro district has left his family searching for answers after he wrote a will and allegedly took his own life.
Tito Okello, who is survived with three widows and nine children, was found unconscious on Monday by one of his family members inside his hut.
Okello was rushed to Odek Health Centre III in critical condition where he passed on later that day.
He reportedly left a suicide note before taking chemical suspected to be one being used in Indoor Residual Spray (IRS) exercise in a bid to tackle the malaria epidemics in Omoro and other parts of northern Uganda.
In his short suicide that he wrote in vernacular (Acholi), Okello wrote, “Life is short and everyone is going to die someday. Please, take care of my children and wives,” the note reads.
His father, Maurensio Nyeko admitted that his son committed suicide by taking poisonous substance.
However Nyeko could not explain why Okello chose to end his life in a tragic manner instead bringing the matter forward for discussion with family members.
The late Okello was on Wednesday March 1 at his ancestral home in Orapwoyo village. Religious leaders are reported to have refused to preside over his burial.
Mathew Olobo, a local leader in the area described the death as unfortunate and urged those burdened with problem to talk to their family about it instead of choosing suicide as solution.
Recently, a suicide victim in a village in Patiko Sub County also wrote a suicide note asking his relatives to clear his debt of 150,000 shillings.
Francis Onyang is suspected to have killed himself after failing to clear a 5 Million Shillings he owed to his friends.
On several occasions, elders in Acholi sub-region attribute the high cases of suicide to lack proper burial accorded to those who were killed during the long war.
But psychiatrists attribute the problem to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as a result of the war witnessed in the sub region.
In Gulu, Agago, Omoro, Nwoya and Amuru districts alone, official reports from the police and local council official indicate that more than 150 people have for the past five years committed suicide, while scores have been rescued from committing the act.
2 Comments
Ci pwud kiweko yadi i odi ata i kin piny kun dano tye ka dere kwede? They should control all those drugs for sprays. If someone wants the sprays they can request under police guard.
It is indeed saddening to hear of such a lose of life. Youth in this part of Uganda needs serious support and continuous help with copping mechanism, so they can make better decisions in life. You only need to be in that part of the country to realize the enormity of what the effect of war had on the people. Worst of all there is very little government is done to help, money that are allocated and appropriated to help address issues such as mental health is squared by the officers in OPM.