How Nairobi woman spent the night out only to find her husband dead at home
Police in Zimmerman area, Nairobi County are investigating an incident in which a woman found her husband dead at home after she spent the night out.
On the night of Tuesday, September 12, 2023, the woman, whose identity has not been made public by the police, arrived at her rented house but could not access it.
According to the police, the woman said her husband did not open the door for her after she returned home from work, which made her seek a place to spend the night.
The woman said that when she went back to the house on the next morning, she knocked the door but still there was no response. It is then that she informed neighbours and sought their help.
“She tried to call her husband as the door remained closed but there was no response and she decided to alert the neighbours,” the police said in a report.
The neighbours decided to gain entry into the house by breaking a window. Inside the house they found the body of the deceased dangling from a shower pipe. The body did not have any visible injuries.
The police are also investigating another incident in the same area, in which a man is believed to have died by suicide inside his house.
Mr Denis Kiarie’s body was found dangling from the rooftop of his rented house in Mwiki area by neighbours who later called the police to the scene. The body was later taken to the Nairobi City Mortuary.
This comes at a time when the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a policy aimed at initiating meaningful dialogue around the decriminalization of suicide and suicidal attempts.
Most countries, Kenya included, have criminalized suicide and/or suicide attempts with a report by the United for Global Mental Health highlighting that these countries imprison an individual for one or three years or even fine them if convicted of a suicide attempt.
According to the Kenyan law, anyone who attempts suicide is considered to have engaged in an illegal act. Chapter 63, Section 226 of the Penal Code stipulates that any person who attempts to kill himself or herself is guilty of a misdemeanor. The penalty is up to two years in prison or a fine or both.
“The threat of legal sanction as well as actual imprisonment can have negative repercussions on an individual’s mental health as well as exacerbate suicide risk, leaving those who are incarcerated even more vulnerable,” WHO said.