A 51-year-old woman on Friday, April 2, reportedly jumped to her death from the rooftop of a residential building in Kabete, Kiambu County.
The deceased who police identified as Christine Akinyi, is said to have jumped from the 5th floor in what is suspected to be an act of suicide.
The husband, James Nguala, told the police that Akinyi went out of their rented house before climbing to the rooftop from where she jumped to the ground.
Police have since interrogated the husband who reported the matter to the authorities after the incident.
Akinyi is said to have left behind a suicide note in the house, but police declined to reveal its contents, noting that it would serve as an exhibit and was crucial to the case.
The body was taken to Chiromo mortuary and later handed over to a government pathologist who conducted a postmortem. Police hoped that the analysis and the husband’s statements would help solve the case.
In March 2021, a similar incident occurred at the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company in Parklands Plaza, after a staffer committed suicide.
Kevin Njagi jumped from the 8th floor after calling his parents and warning them that he was about to kill himself. Njagi's colleagues suspected that he might have been depressed.
On September 13, 2020, one Eunice Wangari survived after she was reportedly pushed from 12th floor only to land on the 9th floor.
She told police that a man she had been meeting pushed her. The matter is still in court.
In Kenya, 1,442 people were reported to have attempted suicide between 2015 and 2018. The Kenya National Police Service annual crime reports reveal the figures for the crime of attempted suicide is higher, and ranked second to murder in the homicide category.
According to the 2020 KNBS Economic Survey, 196 cases were reported in 2019. The figures also revealed that the number is four times higher for men compared to women.
"These figures provide a conservative picture on the magnitude of suicide since only a fraction of cases are reported while an even bigger number contemplate suicide," Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said in September 2020.
Depression, debts, jilted love, drug abuse and the harsh economy were cited as the major causes for suicide.
