Kirinyaga County residents have raised concerns over rising suicide cases among children after a 10-year-old boy killed himself in Kibingoti Village in Ndia Sub County.It is believed that the fourth-grader hung himself on Tuesday inside their home in Kibingoti village.According to his grandmother Rose Nyambura Ritho, the minor’s body was discovered on Tuesday night after he had earlier been seen digging a ditch.

She said the boy had shown no signs of taking his life and seemed happy but soon after his death, they discovered he might have been digging his own grave, in form of the ditch.“I am still in shock because he was very happy yesterday. I had even bought new clothes for him for the New Year celebrations…little did I know it was the last day to see him alive,” Nyambura explained.“He had dug a big ditch, the size of a grave, outside our compound and when I asked him, he told me it was for planting banana stems. I advised him there was an electric pole around and he covered it and demanded to be shown another site…we found his lifeless body last night at around 7 pm.”Residents have raised concerns about similar cases as they recalled three recent occurrences within the last three months.One of the cases was recorded on October 10, 2022, where a class seven girl is said to have killed herself after her mother stopped her from boiling water using a gas cooker.Another Grade Four pupil died by suicide the following month on November 22 2023 after he lost a Sufuria in River Thiba fearing punishment from his parent.

On Friday this month, a class seven pupil from Maendeleo village in Thiba died on a chicken coop. The minor is being buried today, Wednesday, December 28, 2022.Ndia Sub-County Police Commander Moses Koskei confirmed the incident saying an investigation is underway.He also echoed the residents’ remarks that similar cases have been rampant in the county.“It is true cases of suicide in Kirinyaga are worrying,” Koskei said.