This archive report was first published on 16 December 2019.
A 14-year-old girl is recuperating at Nyamira County Referral Hospital after an attempt to kill herself failed on Sunday afternoon.
According to Dr. Sam Ombati, the Nyamira Medical Superintendent, the girl swallowed poison, believed to be an insecticide, and was admitted to the hospital unconscious.
Fortunately, the girl is responding well to treatment and has already started talking, Dr. Ombati said.
The girl's father, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect her identity, revealed that she had resisted his orders to attend church before the attempted suicide.
He explained that he had insisted she accompany the family to church on Sunday, but she had refused, citing her Seventh Day Adventist beliefs, which recognize Saturday as the day of worship.
The father acknowledged that the disagreement over which school the girl would join Form One was a contributing factor, but insisted it was not the primary cause of the attempted suicide.
The girl had scored 329 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and had been admitted to Rangenyo Girls in Nyamira, but her father wanted her to attend St. Charles Lwanga Ichuni in Kisii County instead.
