Pastor Dorcas Gachagua has disclosed how she attempted suicide by breaching former (late) president Daniel Moi’s security.
According to the second lady, they had visited Kabarnet Gardens as university students.
The second lady who was speaking at the 'Sikika Youth Fest', an event aimed at addressing mental health issues among the youth, said she was undergoing mental issues at the time.
This is where she also met her husband, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
"My mother was in distress. I was in the university and I was contemplating suicide. Marriage was the last thing on my mind. On a visit to Kabarnet Gardens, I ran to President Moi because I wanted his security to shoot me dead. Thankfully, the President lend me an ear," Dorcas said.
The Sikika Youth Fest was hosted by Mount Kenya University, on Friday, where she was the chief guest.
The event, dubbed 'Sikika, Tubonge, Tusifiche', was held at the Mwai Kibaki Convention Centre and was attended by MKU students and youths from Thika and its environs.
The initiative aspires to push for a significant reduction in the number of young people living with anxiety and depression in the country, while also helping to reduce the alarming rates of suicide among young men.
The DP’s wife shared her mental health journey with the youthful forum as she also called on more focus on boy child, saying that society should treat them honourably.
Pastor Dorcas insisted that as a mother, she will not stop talking about the plight of the boy child.
"I must speak about it. Sometimes, because of the way the world's culture is, we assume men are wired for anything and we don't care about the boy. The boy child always has to stand up for a broken home and that's why most of them are drug addicts with mental health issues," she said.
MKU co-founder Dr Jane Nyutu, a counselling psychologist and educationist, talked the youth out of engaging in activities that would harm their mental health.
"We've seen so many young Kenyans struggling with mental health issues and most of them are caused by comparing themselves to their peers," she said.
"Things like social media, influencers and the internet, in general, are some of the major causes of mental imbalance and we hope you can consume them wisely."
