S.1 student commits suicide on reporting day

Amolatar, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A senior one student of Aputi Secondary school has committed suicide following a misunderstanding with her father over grazing animals. Miriam Anyango’s body was found hanging on a mango tree on Monday after disappearing home on Sunday evening.

The deceased has been living with her father and stepmother since her biological mother left her father. Family sources say the 56-year-old Sam Orech Apollo, who is also the LCII chairperson of Anywali parish, Aputi sub-county physically assaulted the girl for alleged failure to take good care of the animals she was herding.

Doreen Amongi, the deceased’s stepmother who occasionally broke down during the interview, said that the old man picked up an argument with her over the whereabouts of his daughter, claiming that she did not graze the animals well that day. According to Amongi, her husband followed the girl to a tailor’s home where she was mending her clothes and started beating her from there until they got home.

Anyango disappeared from home shortly after the beating, only to be found dead on a tree. She also confirmed that her husband is very violent to both her and the children.

Stephen Okello, an elder brother to the deceased accused his father of using violence as an excuse for not sending his children to school, saying that their father often becomes more violent when schools are reopening. Adding that he left home a few months ago to stay with his mother who also separated from his father because of violence.

Orech, who has since denied the allegation of being violent argues that his daughter’s dissatisfaction over her school fees payment might have prompted her to commit suicide. He says that he did not have money to pay her school fees on time but he was ready to look for the money so that she could go to school.

Concord Ambrose Okwir, the Amolatar District Inspector of Schools who acknowledged the pressure that the parents are going through to send their children advised them to normalize holding family meetings in order to iron out family problems, especially those which involve finances.

Although police had not yet issued any formal reports on the findings, a source from the CID office confirmed on condition of anonymity that the girl committed suicide. In a similar development, a 20-year-old Daniel Ocen, a resident of Atingi village, Anamwany parish, Awelo sub-county is battling for his life at Amolatar HCIV after an attempted suicide. Ocen is said to have swallowed dry cell carbon on Monday evening after his family declined to marry him a wife.

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