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UNESWA STUDENT, MDS PUPIL COMMIT SUICIDE

By Musa Simelane | 2024-11-09

In a tragic turn of events, a 16-year-old pupil of Mater Dolorosa High School (MDS) and a student from the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) student have both died in separate suicide incidents.

The boy is said to have slit his throat with a sharp object, while the university student, also a male, in his early 20s, is suspected to have consumed a poisonous substance and locked himself in his dormitory at the Mbabane campus. He was discovered dead a day later. These untimely deaths have left their families, friends and academic institutions reeling from shock as it highlights the deepening mental health crisis that has enveloped Eswatini and then manifest itself in rising suicide cases. Concerning the teenager, this newspaper was reliably informed that he first attempted to take his own life by swallowing a caustic substance while in the school’s science lab early this week.

Found writhing in pain by fellow students, he was rushed to the Mbabane Government Hospital by the school staff where he was treated. “The medication seemed to have worked because he was discharged a day later and went back to his flat,” said a fellow pupil. Unfortunately, he was alone when the thoughts of committing suicide returned to him with full force, and they drove him to find any sharp object (a scissors), and go for his throat several times. He had already passed away when he was discovered. His death has sent shockwaves in the school as his friends and classmates are still disturbed. Some of his friends revealed to this newspaper that he was going through some personal problems that he could not voice out to anyone, not even to them. In fact, what they knew is that he lived alone in a room at Msunduza Township in the capital city and had no mother. His other parent was said to sometimes check up on him at his place of abode. “Leading up to his passing away, we noticed that he was quieter than usual and preferred to be alone most of the time. When we asked him what was going on he said he had issues and would not elaborate. His class participation and performance was going down. He at times felt stressed by school.

Loss He just never opened up about what bothered him,” said his colleagues. One of MDS senior teaching staff confirmed the tragic loss, but declined to talk any further about it and said the boy’s family would be better placed to say much. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer (PICO), Superintendent Phindile Vilakati, confirmed the suicide incidents. Meanwhile regarding the university student, unconfirmed reports indicate that he was also going through a very difficult patch in his life. He is said to have stayed in his dormitory and did not come out for a day or two. He was discovered dead yesterday and it is suspected that he might have ingested something deadly. UNESWA Vice Chancellor Justice Thwala confirmed this tragedy and said the university would investigate to find out what exactly happened as their knowledge was scanty. He said there was an urgent need to improve the wellness of students because they were going through a lot these days. They are facing poverty and are stressed by academic demands, he added.

According to the most recent reports from Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) about suicides, a total of 110 cases were recorded from January to September, which marked 13 per cent increase from last year’s 97 cases around the same period. Vilakati said the suicide victims were mostly men (85 of them) and some of the reasons behind included infidelity, child maintenance, debt, fear of arrest after committing certain offences and lack of basic necessities. Out of the 110 cases, 25 were female. The sharp rise in suicides has also been seen in the police force, whereby cases of officers taking their own lives with their service firearms were recorded.

One of the cases that shocked the police force was the death of a police couple at Mpolonjeni. The husband (Frans Dlamini) first shot his wife Nomfundo and then turned the gun on himself. They had a tumultuous marriage. They are survived by their three children.

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