Pallisa, Uganda: Police in Pallisa District have launched investigations into the suspected suicide of a 17-year-old female student who was found hanging from a mango tree behind her family’s home in Kaguya Village, Kagoli Parish, Kamuge Sub-county.
The deceased has been identified as Agwang Joyce Mary, a Senior One student at Kibale Secondary School. Police believe she died sometime between the night of July 21 and the morning of July 22.
According to Bukedi North Regional Police spokesperson ASP Wilfred Kyempasa, the incident was reported to Kibale Police Post at around 7:40 a.m. by Kaguya Village LC I Chairperson Opade Julius after residents discovered the body.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the teenager had reportedly become distressed after being questioned by her mother about why she had not attended school on Tuesday. Police say she left home at around 6:30 p.m. and did not return.
A search mounted the following morning ended when her body was found hanging from a mango tree behind the family’s homestead.
Police registered the case as suspected suicide by hanging under Kibale SD 07/22/07/2026, later referenced as CRB 321/2026 at Pallisa Central Police Station.
A team of detectives led by District CID Officer D/ASP Twesigye Hamdan visited the scene, documented evidence, recovered a bedsheet believed to have been used in the incident and recorded statements from the LC I chairperson and the deceased’s mother.
The body was taken to Mbale Regional City Mortuary for a postmortem examination.
According to police, the postmortem confirmed that the cause of death was suffocation resulting from hanging. Investigators further established that the deceased was approximately six months pregnant. Police said the unborn baby was found to have died in the womb during the postmortem examination.
Authorities also disclosed that the teenager had never revealed the identity of the person responsible for the pregnancy despite reportedly being asked on several occasions.
Police say the motive behind the suspected suicide has not yet been established and investigations remain ongoing.
Following the incident, D/ASP Twesigye Hamdan urged parents, guardians and community members to provide emotional support to children facing personal challenges and called for greater awareness of mental health and stress management to help prevent similar tragedies.
The body has since been released to the family for burial arrangements.
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