•Her colleagues said she went to the balcony of the dormitory at about 6 pm and slid off landing on her head.
•A two-page note recovered from her indicated she decided to die by suicide because she was troubled due to the separation of her parents.
Image: STAR ILLUSTRATION
A Form One student died by suicide at a Nairobi school in an incident that shocked her colleagues.
Laureen Ekale, 15, jumped from the first floor of their dormitory at the Ngara Girls High School in Nairobi after leaving a two-page note explaining the motive.
The students had taken their supper on Wednesday, November 16, and were preparing for evening preps when the incident happened.
Her colleagues said she went to the balcony of the dormitory at about 6 pm and slid off landing on her head.
She was rushed to a local hospital and later referred to Aga Khan Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The parents of the student were informed.
This left the school fraternity in shock as the news of the incident spread.
A two-page note recovered from her indicated she decided to die by suicide because she was troubled due to the separation of her parents.
She explained the separation had negatively affected her life.
Police were called to the scene of the incident as part of the probe into the same.
Nairobi police boss Adamson Bungei termed the incident tragic, adding an investigation had been launched.
An autopsy was planned on the body to establish how she died. This is the latest incident to affect a student.
Police say they have also been receiving increased cases of suicide in the country. Authorities blame the trend on mental distress.
There were 174 cases of suicide reported in 2020 as compared to 196 in 2019, 302 in 2018, 421 in 2017 and 302 in 2016.
The majority of the victims were male, police reports say.
Police say the trend has been worrying and increasing as up to two cases are reported daily.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says such cases are attributed to joblessness, death, academic failures or pressures, legal difficulties and financial difficulties.
Other reasons are bullying, previous suicide attempts, history of suicide in a family, alcoholism and substance misuse, depression and bipolar disorder.
WHO rates suicide as a serious global public health issue that is among the top 20 leading causes of death worldwide.
Globally, close to 800,000 people die of suicide every year with an estimated 78 per cent of cases occurring in low and middle-income countries.
Kenya ranks position 114 among the 175 countries with the highest suicide rates.
A task force on mental health established Kenya has a high burden of mental illness due to ill health, psychosocial disability and premature mortality with huge gaps in access to care.
The team found out that the majority of people in Kenya associate mental health and illness with negative narratives leading to a low focus on the importance and benefits of mental health and well-being.
The team recommended that mental illness be declared a national emergency of epidemic proportions, to prioritise mental health on public health and socioeconomic agenda.
It recommended that mental health be provided with adequate financing in line with international best practices.