BY JOAN WANJIKU,NAIROBI,29TH NOV,2021-The residents of Rurare village in Kanduyi, Bungoma county, woke up to a rude shock after a man died by suicide for being turned down by his girlfriend.
Before ending his life, Evans Wanjala, 34, stormed Juliet Makokha’s home and stabbed her several times in the stomach, alleging she had been conning him of money while she had agreed to marry another man.
Makokha, 29, was rushed to Bungoma County Referral Hospital where she was admitted in critical condition.
The body of the deceased was picked up by police and taken to the hospital’s mortuary.
Wanjala’s brother Fidelis Mechumo said the deceased has been in a relationship with Makokha for the past nine months after he divorced his wife.
Mechumo said Wanjala had been depressed but he failed to reveal what he was going through until he stabbed his lover and went on to kill himself.
“If he could have shared what he has been going through I could have counseled him. It’s unfortunate that he has died by suicide. It is my humble appeal that those in love should seek proper guidance on the way forward if they disagree with their partners,” he said.
Wanjala was a father of four children and his lover Makokha lived a short distance from his home.
“My brother’s wife left him because of being involved in an affair with Juliet but along the way the deceased fell out with her after she conned him over Sh50, 000,” Mechumo said.
Confirming the incident, Bungoma South police commander Benjamin Kimwele said he a got a call from Musikoma police station that a middle-aged man had died by suicide.
He sent police officers from the station to the scene. Kimwele said the officers established that the deceased man had a quarrel with his girlfriend in her house before he grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed several times in the abdomen.
On realising that he may have killed her, Wanjala ran away but he was found hanging with a manila rope around his neck behind his house.
Kimwele condemned the incident as gender-based violence. “Those in love affairs should seek guidance and counseling from relevant authorities,” he said.
Taiga Wanyanja, a counselor, condemned the incident, saying during this pandemic period many people are undergoing depression and the county government should establish a counseling department at the referral hospital.
“During the Covid-19 lockdowns Bungoma county has recorded a high number of teenage pregnancies, suicide cases and mental illness all linked to lack of psychiatric specialists at Bungoma County Referral Hospital,” he said.
