Form 2 pupil poisons self over reprimand

By Sukulwenkosi Dube

A FORM Two pupil at Valukhalo Secondary School in Mangwe District committed suicide by drinking poison after he was reprimanded by his mother for failing to fetch firewood.

Jabulani Tshuma, 18, from Empandeni area under chief Tshitshi mixed cattle dip and rat poison which he then drank on Sunday evening.

He was admitted to Plumtree District Hospital and he died on Tuesday.

Tshuma’s mother, Idah Sibanda, 41, said she found her son lying on the floor in his bedroom soon after drinking the poison.

She said they rushed him to a nearby clinic around 10PM and he was transferred to Plumtree District Hospital the on following day around 2AM.

“I found him lying on the floor and he was foaming around the mouth. He was breathing heavily and he could not even talk, he was in a bad state,” said Sibanda as she broke into tears.

“There was an empty bottle of dip chemical and an empty packet of rat poison on his bed”, she said

Sibanda said just before the incident she had reprimanded her son for neglecting household errands.

She said she had assigned him to fetch firewood but when she returned home that evening she discovered that he had not done so.

She said her son appeared disturbed by the rebuke as he immediately proceeded to his bedroom, only for him to take the poison.

“We exchanged some very harsh words with my son because each time I scolded him he would respond. He then told me that I was always abusing him and that he would eventually commit suicide,” she Sibanda.

She said her son shocked her when he said he wished his late father was still alive.

Sibanda who was speaking in between sobs said she regretted insulting her son on that particular day.

She said she received news of her son’s death on Tuesday around 12PM while she was seated outside the hospital gate where she was waiting to see him during the visiting hour at 1PM. She said she had expected her son to recover because his breathing had improved a day after admission.

Sibanda said she did not get a chance to chat with her son after the incident as he could not speak.

Valukhalo Secondary School headmistress, Region Dube described Jabulani’s death as a tragedy for the school as he was a well behaved pupil.

Incidences of pupils who have been committing suicide are on the increase. Two weeks ago, a Form Two from Pumula High School in Bulawayo died after eating food he had laced with poison.

Two months ago, a Grade Seven pupil at Senzangakhona Primary School in Emganwini suburb, also in Bulawayo, committed suicide by hanging in his mother’s bedroom using a scarf. In August, a pupil from the same school hanged herself from a tree at her family home. The Chronicle