A 75 year old man, Oswell Kisyombe from Mwafilaso Village in the area of Paramount Chief Kyungu in Karonga District has shocked the community by committing suicide just outside his house.
Kisyombe, one of the church elders of St. Peter’s Church in the district, hanged himself on a tree outside his house by using a fence wire on Saturday.
This sad development has shocked the deceased friends and relatives who said he was not economically challenged, nor did he tell anyone about any conflict that he faced.
Kisyombe was staying with his 42 year old son, Kosmas. His wife died last year (in 2014).
According Kosmas, his father, a retired civil servant, was also working as a part time teacher at Lusubilo Primary School in the district.
Kosmas said that his father never showed suicidal tendencies a day before he died.
“I was living well with my father, and on the evening of Friday, we chatted very well. However, I was shocked when a neighbor called me out at around 4 a.m. that my father has hanged himself outside the house.
“During our stay together, he faced no economical challenges since apart from the work he was doing, my brother working as a doctor and another working in South Africa used to support him,” said Kosmas.
Confirming the development in a telephone interview with Mana, Officer-In-Charge for Karonga Police, Deputy Commissioner Edward Chingaipe said the police were yet to establish what made Kisyombe to hang himself.
However, Chingaipe felt lack of care or over thinking about his deceased wife could be the factors that led to the 75 year old man killing himself.
Chingaipe then advised the general public to seek advice from traditional or religious leaders whenever they face problems.
“We are yet to establish the real cause as to why Kisyombe hanged himself. However, we suspect that he might be over stressed or he got drunk since during the inspection, officers found some beer in a house he was living,” said Chingaipe.
“We have traditional and religious leaders in our society whose responsibility is to provide guidance, and even at our office there is a victim support unit where the general public can express their grievances,” added Chingaipe.
