This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
On Monday evening, Mundanda village in Mwiria sub-location, Matungu sub-county was thrown into grief after a 17-year-old Form One student hanged himself in his brother's house.
The student, who was a Mwiria Mixed Secondary school student, had been sent home two weeks ago over Sh3,000 school fees arrears.
His father, Mr. Juma Nanjira, discovered the body which was dangling from the roof poles of his brother's house.
Mr. Nanjira said he had asked his son to go back to school as he looked for the money, but the boy had been reluctant to report back.
"He has been reluctant to report back to school. In the morning, I asked him why he was not willing to go to school but he didn’t answer me," said Mr. Nanjira.
Despite a two-hour meeting with the deputy principal, the boy failed to return to school, and his father found him dead in a derelict house belonging to his brother.
"He has been an obedient boy, performing well in school but of late he had accompanied bad boys in the village who are not schooling," said Mr. Nanjira.
The area Chief, Sheban Nyapola, said the student did not leave a suicide note, making it difficult to tell why he killed himself.
"The boy has shocked everybody by his act. It is not clear why he killed himself," Mr. Nyapola said.
Neighbors said the boy was experiencing strained relations with his step-mother, and his mother had committed suicide a year ago.
The boy's body was moved to Bungoma County hospital mortuary where it awaits a postmortem.
On July 16, 2019, a similar incident was reported in Homa Bay county where a Form Three student at Alara Mixed Secondary School in Ndhiwa Sub County committed suicide after being sent home for school fees.
