'Mentally ill' man commits suicide outside Naivasha mortuary

There was anxiety in Nakuru County after a man committed suicide outside the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital mortuary.

The man, referred to as a ‘hustler’, took his life by hanging himself on a tree a few metres from the facility’s gate, in an incident that left many residents in shock.

The man who is yet to be identified had for the past couple of weeks camped under the tree near the mortuary, claiming he wanted to get closer to ‘home’.

Motorcycle operator Joel Kiragu said the man had on several occasions told them he had shifted from his rural home and decided to commit suicide. Mr Kiragu said the man was mentally ill, adding that they often ignored his threats, until he took his own life.

“He would always tell us that he would soon be going to his home in the mortuary and we ignored him as he looked like he was mentally unstable,” he said.

A senior police officer confirmed the incident, saying they did not find any identification documents on the man.

INQUEST OPENED

“The body has been collected and taken to the nearby mortuary. An inquest file has been opened,” said the senior officer.

Meanwhile, a woman died and scores of others were injured in a road accident along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

The accident that involved an Eldoret Express bus occurred near Kinungi centre in Naivasha, a few metres from the scene of last month’s road crash that left 45 people dead.

Some 45 people were injured in the incident, four of them seriously, in the accident that occurred yesterday morning.

The bus was heading to Western Kenya from Nairobi when the driver lost control after hitting a speed bump, before veering off the road.

According to some passengers, the driver was sending an SMS using his mobile phone when he lost control and landed in a ditch.

Superintendent in charge of Naivasha Sub-County Hospital Joseph Mburu said 45 passengers were received at the facility with varying extents of injury.