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By:
Eseri Watsemwa | |||||||||
| Posted:
Sep,23-2016 14:02:42
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Defined as the deliberate act of killing oneself, suicide is a social and public health problem. Globally, it is the 10th leading cause of deaths.
According to Prof Emilio Ovuga, a psychiatrist at Gulu University, 90 per cent of suicides are as a result of mental disorder and of these; depression is the most common, accounting for about 70 per cent.
Prof Ovuga says suicide is categorised as completed or successful if one's action leads to death and it is attempted suicide if the action fails to kill the person.
About three weeks ago,Mustafa Lule, who can also be known as the Mabirizi jumper, attempted to end his life. This had the 17-year-old struggling to survive and nursing a severely fractured arm in the eleventh ward at Mulago referral hospital.
At the hospital, Lule lies on his hospital bed writhing in pain from his left arm, with a big chunk of his blue and red semi--woolen blanket hanging on one end of the corridor.
With a faint smile, he stretches out his hand and mumbles something to his seemingly weary mother who is standing by his bedside with folded arms. She pulls the blanket and covers him, leaving his heavily bandaged arm suspended in the air.
His reason
From Mabirizi complex, you can see Mapera house, one of the tallest buildings in the City.
Lule says he dropped out of school in Primary Three because he had an intellectual disability and started the hustle in life thereafter. At a tender age, he was forced to fend for himself since he was not his stepmother’s favourite person and his father was not supportive. He was chanced to get a job down town in Kampala, popularly known as Kiyembe where he sold sewing machines. Lule was his family's abode and always sent money to his separated parents and paid siblings' fees. That evening when his boss fired him, he felt useless and thought of ending his life. He was depressed and kept to himself. After weighing options of either poisoning or hanging himself, he resorted to falling off a building, and according to him, Mabirizi was the most accessible. He believed he would die instantly. "I went to Mapeera house along Kampala road but the security was tight. They asked for an identification which I did not have and was told to move away. That’s when I decided to go to Mabirizi where I ascended the stairs to the rooftop without any hindrance," he recollects, with so much confidence written on his scared face. 
Screen grab showing the location of Mabirizi complex.
His 36--year--old mother Amatu Namakula says she received the news from her sister who ran home to her compound in Lukadde Kagoma shouting that Lule was dead. She fainted and her sister accompanied her to Mulago. "I was hopeless and could neither stand nor walk. For two days, my son was unconscious, he could neither eat nor speak," she recounts.
Lule is the second born among five siblings. His mother had left him and his elder sibling at their father's home in Bugoba in Kawempe.
However, his mother says Lule had up to that time refused to tell her the reason as to why he attempted to commit suicide."I have asked him over and over in vain. It seems he is hiding something so fatal, that's why he doesn't disclose to me," she says. Second chance at life Although experts say those who have previously attempted to commit suicide are at higher risk for future attempts, Lule is remorseful. With all the media attention and the fact that he survived, he says he can never think about committing suicide again. "I believe God saved me for a reason. There is something he has in store for me. Next time I will know better how to deal with my losses and stresses," he says. He has skills in repairing sewing machines and believes he can earn a living through this when he heals. Dr Edgar Muhumuza, a neural surgeon and senior consultant in charge of the neuro ward where he underwent treatment says Lule is a survivor and only has to undergo treatment for his fractured arm. "I suspect he landed on his limbs. Had it been by the neck or head, he would have died instantly or by now because his brain would be injured. Remember the brain has nowhere to swell to, so one dies incidentally," he explains. Likely causes of suicides Dr Raymond Odokonyero, a psychiatrist at Butabika National referral hospital attributes causes of suicidal thoughts to mental disorders such as depression, bipolar, alcoholism, and or substance misuse. Other causes include domestic violence, problems with social networks and sad events in life. The rest of the cases of suicidal behaviour, Odokonyero says, are due to stress in daily life, problems in relationships, poverty, unemployment, job loss, chronic health conditions such as heart failure and kidney failure, stigma due to HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses like cancer. However, suicide can be hereditary. Chances are that if there are suicide victims in one's lineage, he or she is likely to follow the trend. The commonest methods of suicide are hanging, poisoning and use of fire arms. Suicides worldwide In Uganda, the World Health Organisation data published in May 2014 revealed suicide deaths had reached 4,323 or 1.35 per cent of total deaths. The age adjusted death rate is 18.67 per 100,000 of the population, which ranks Uganda 17th in the world. Suicide rates in neighbouring Tanzania are higher at 23.34 and lower in Kenya at 11.68 per 100,000. Three quarters of suicides globally occur in the developing world. Rates of completed suicides are generally higher in men than in women, ranging from 1.5 times as much in the developing world to 3.5 times in the developed world. Prof Ovuga notes that suicide is generally common among those over the age of 70 in high-income countries; however, in Uganda, it is common among youth aged 24 to 34 years, and 90 percent of suicides are medical. Notably, wowen attempt suicide four times more than men and men succeed four times more than women. Globally, there are an estimated 10--20 million non--fatal attempted suicides every year. These attempts may lead to injury and long-term disabilities and are common in young people and females in the western world. Signs of a suicidal mind Dr Muhumuza says people contemplating committing suicide normally have behavioural changes such as keeping to themselves. "People who are generally known as friendly start keeping to themselves. Others suddenly change their mood," he says. Some behave abnormally and do things that they are not supposed to do, for instance urinating in awkward places. Besides isolation, suicidal persons tend to be unnecessarily apologetic, want to pay all debts and give away possessions or ask others to take care of their loved ones. | |||||||||
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