AMURU DISTRICT, UGANDA: Grief and fear engulfed residents of Bibia West village, Elegu Town Council in Amuru District after a 40-year-old man allegedly killed himself by ingesting unknown poisonous substances.
The deceased identified as Apollo Tomas Okeny was pronounced dead at Bibia Health Centre III where he had been admitted in critical condition.
Police were alerted by the victim’s partner identified as Rose Gale aged 43.
It is alleged that Okeny reportedly picked up a quarrel with Gale before he swallowed the toxic substance.
Patrick Jimmy Okema, the Aswa Region Police Spokesperson confirmed the incident and said police has since arrested the victim’s girlfriend to help in their investigations and the body has been taken to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital for postmortem.
Alcohol has been noted to be an important factor in nearly 68% of the suicides in Northern Uganda, according to studies.
Others are Drug Abuse, Mental Illness, Depression or Stress, Domestic violence, Effects of war, and Illness such as HIV, Cancer
Elders in Acholi sub region attribute the high cases of suicide in the former war-ravaged region to the ghostly vengeance due to the mass killings during the LRA rebels led insurgency. But psychiatrist linked the rising cases of suicide in the region the post war traumatic stress.
Police latest figures show that over 160 people have committed suicide in Acholi sub region since last October.
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