32-year-old Man Commits Suicide Over N7,000 Debt

A 32-year-old man identified as Gideon Njema, reportedly hanged himself in his house in Karanja village, Matuga Sub County, Kenya on Monday, July 4. The man who used work as a waiter at the Rehema hotel in Kwale town, was discovered dangling from a wire on Tuesday, July 5.

According to reports, Njema had told the man whom he owed N7,000 which is approximately $25 to come and collect his money around 3pm on Monday, after he was served a letter from the police. He had been given a deadline to pay up or prepare to be arrested.

According to Mr Mbiwika, owner of the hotel where the deceased worked, Njema had excused himself from work around 3:30pm:

“According to me the main reason for his action is the money and the fact that the matter had been reported to police. I normally pay them Sh5000 per month but there are those who prefer to be paid on weekly basis or after every two weeks but he preferred to be paid during the end of the month.”

The man whom the deceased owed SH2500 (N7,000), Mr Mutunga, was reportedly a regular customer at the hotel and works at the adult education office. According to Mr Nzuki, Mutunga had earlier asked him if Njema had been paid his salary, to which he replied that he had been paid a while back. Njema’s landlord, Edward Mtitika, said he had been notified about the incident after his neighbours saw blood flowing out of his room. He also said the deceased had asked him for a sh100 to enable him visit his father whom he said was hospitalized at the Kinango hospital.

Mtitika the landlord said the unexpected incident took them by surprise because the deceased has been staying here for more than 5 years and all along he has been coexisting so well with others.

Confirming the incident, Patrick Oduma, the Matuga OCPD said investigations are presently ongoing to into the case to determine the cause of death. Meanwhile, the body has been deposited at the Msambwei referral hospital mortuary.