Colleagues of a Secondary school teacher who was found dead in a suspected suicide case in Nyamira County have revealed details about the deceased tutor following news about his tragic demise.
The colleagues gave details about the teacher’s betting and borrowing history after he was found hanging in his house on Thursday, June 6, 2024.
According to the teachers, the deceased tutor at Nyamira Boys Secondary School was an Aviator betting game enthusiast who was deep in debt.
They revealed that the teacher identified as Kevin Omwenga by Area Assistant Chief Johnson Manyara had borrowed money from colleagues.
It is believed that part of the borrowed money alleged to be in the tune of Ksh50,000 may have been lost in gambling according to the revelations by his colleagues which were reported by the area chief.
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“I have gathered from his colleagues that he borrowed a lot of money, but lost most of it playing Aviator game,” said Manyara.
Teacher Hangs Self
The secondary school teacher is said to have been employed under Board of Management (BOM) and was teaching Chemistry and Mathematics, according to Nyamira Boys secondary school principal George Onkundi.
Furthermore, the principal while speaking to the press said that the deceased showed no signs of stress.
“He had not yet been employed by the TSC but was teaching with us under BOM for the past four years. He didn’t show any sign of stress,” said the principal.
According to the principal, Omwenga was last seen near the school on Wednesday June 5 but failed to report to work.
Onkudi further disclosed that calls were made to the deceased’s phone on Wednesday night and Thursday morning which went unanswered.
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This prompted some of the teachers to walk to his house to check on him following the unanswered calls.
Upon reaching the teacher’s house, the teachers knocked on the door incessantly, which also went unanswered.
Schock engulfed the teachers after peeping through the window only to see their colleague’s body hanging by the neck.
The shocked teachers then alarmed the police and the area assistant chief who were called to the scene.
Authorities arrived at the scene where they were able to retrieve the body which was later taken to Nyamira Referral Hospital.
According to reports, Omwenga’s wife had travelled to the village to see his sick mother together with their one-year-old child.
Suicide Cases
The suspected suicide case is among a number of incidents involving teachers taking their lives over debts that have been reported this year.
In March this year, a teacher at Chwele Grils High School in Bungoma County committed suicide by jumping in front of an oncoming vehicle.
The teacher who was the acting Director of Studies (DOS) at the institution was reported to have accumulated debts from multiple lending institutions.
According to statistics, the number of times people in Kenya attempt suicide daily is 20 on average, while at least four people die by taking their lives each day in the country.
On the other hand, about 700,000 people die by suicide every year in the world according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
This makes suicide the second leading cause of death among individuals aged between 15 and 29 years.
These figures are, however, likely to be conservative due to the taboo nature of suicide and its legal ramifications which discourage open discussions.
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