Girl (9) finds brother hanging

By Michell Zvanyanya and Shelton Masina

A nine-year-old girl stumbled on her 23-year-old brother who had allegedly hanged himself in Magwegwe suburb in Bulawayo.

The incident occurred on Thursday at around 4PM. Bulawayo acting provincial police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele confirmed the incident.

“I can confirm that we received a case of sudden death where a 23-year-old man from Magwegwe suburb was found hanging from a roof truss at his home,” said Asst Insp Msebele.

She said the man was reportedly a psychiatric patient under observation at Ingutsheni Central Hospital in Bulawayo.

Asst Insp Msebele, who withheld the deceased’s name for ethical reasons, said he went inside the house at around 4PM leaving his stepmother and his nine-year-old stepsister outside.

“His stepmother got worried and decided to send the child to check on him. The child returned outside the house yelling after seeing that the man had hanged himself,” she said.

Asst Insp Msebele said family members tried to resuscitate the man in vain. Magwegwe police attended the scene after receiving the report and the body was ferried to the United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) for postmortem.

Asst Insp Msebele urged members of the public to seek counselling from elders, family members, community or church when facing any problems.

Two weeks ago in an almost similar situation a man also from Magwegwe suburb hanged himself from a roof truss at his rented home after his self-confessed sex worker wife of two years allegedly fell in love and ran off with one of her clients.

He was found hanging from a roof truss by a fellow tenant who was checking up on him as she had not heard from him or his wife for the whole day, which she said was unusual. The Chronicle