MV Kalangala crew foil man’s bid to commit suicide

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The crew of MV Kalangala have this morning foiled an attempt by a 30-year old man to kill himself by drowning.

Richard Tobo had made elaborate plans for his death, down to giving clear instructions where his dead body was to be delivered, in the extreme North West of the country.

After writing the instructions for the dispatch of his mortal remains to his ancestral land, Tobo jumped off the deck of the MV Kalangala into the water of Lake Victoria during the morning voyage from Kalangala to Nakiwogo on Eid day.

Tobo took the unsuccessful jump at exactly 11am, with 30 minutes left for the MV Kalangala to dock at Nakiwogo pier in Entebbe. He did not give the reasons for taking his own life in his eleborate write up which gave direction to his final resting place.

The write up was safely tucked into in his travel bag, which he presumably expected would be inspected upon his death so as to ascertain his identity. In the write up, he gave several contacts of his relatives in Arua city who knew where his ancestral burial grounds are located.

One of the senior crewmen on the MV Kalangala who did not want to be identified told URN that Tobo has been rescued by the ship’s divers who dived after him after his unsuccessful dive. They were joined by Nakiwogo fishermen who carried the man to safety.

Richard Tobo has been handed over to Nakiwogo police as investigations are underway over the incident of attempting to commit suicide.

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URN