In a heartbreaking incident in Kasarani, Nairobi, a 29-year-old man named Denise Gakuru tragically ended his own life by setting himself ablaze.
The incident occurred in his house on October 23, 2023. Police are currently investigating the matter.
Police say they are investigating the motive behind the incident in which a 29 year old died by suicide after setting himself on fire in Kasarani area, Nairobi.
The badly burnt body of Denise Gakuru was found in his house long after he had set himself on fire.
According to the police report, Gakuru, who lived alone, soaked a piece of cloth in paraffin as part of his plan to take his own life.
The family told police the victim first soaked a piece of rag in paraffin as part of the plans to die by suicide.
He then wrapped the rag around his body before he lit a fire. This was after he doused more paraffin on himself.
This prompted him to raise alarm for help. He was alone in the house, the family told police.
Neighbors, hearing his cries for help, rushed to his aid but found him severely burnt. Despite their efforts to rush him to the hospital, he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The police moved Gakuru’s badly burnt body to the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) mortuary, where it awaits an autopsy. The motive behind his actions remains unclear.
This tragic incident echoes a similar case in August when a 27-year-old man named Robert Gituhu died at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital in Mombasa after setting himself on fire.
Gituhu had poured paraffin on himself and lit a matchbox after climbing a statue at the Mwembe Tayari roundabout, shocking bystanders.
He was admitted to the hospital with 80 percent burns and succumbed to his injuries.
Gituhu, a mechanical engineering graduate from the University of Eldoret, had been reported missing, and his shocking act left the community deeply saddened and bewildered.
Police say cases of suicide have been on the rise amid calls for action to address the same.
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 says such cases are attributed to joblessness, death, academic failures or pressures, legal difficulties and financial difficulties.
