A 16-year-old boy committed suicide in Kamukunji area, Nairobi, after playing an online game dubbed 'Blue Whale Challenge' that has been reported to encourage youngsters to take their lives.
Jamie Njenga, a Form Two student at JG Kiereini Secondary School in Kiambu County, hang himself on the balcony of a hotel owned by his grandfather James Njenga which is located in Nyamakima area in Nairobi's downtown.
“When police were called to the scene, they found the body hanging on a rope on the balcony of the family house. There was no suicide note but we were informed that he was influenced by some online game. The body was then taken to the mortuary,” Nairobi Police Commander Japheth Koome stated.
Jamie's cousin revealed that the deceased had searched for 'how to tie a rope for committing suicide' on google and sent messages to a few friends asking them to remember him adding that they would meet in heaven.
Reports indicated that players who sign up for the game are assigned an administrator who provides them with daily tasks for 50 days, of which they are required to send photographs to prove completion.
The tasks include watching a horror movie or waking up at odd times during the night then on the last day the administrator asks the subscribers to kill themselves.
If a person refuses to go ahead with the suicide, the administrator threatens to harm people close to the victims claiming they have full information about them.
Police officers in Russia launched investigations after 130 teenagers committed suicide between November 2015 and April 2016 that were feared to be linked to the online challenge.
“This is a new thing that calls for parents to keep abreast with their children’s online activities,” Koome stated.
