Malawi man commits suicide by hanging after testing HIV positive

A 42-year-old man in Chileka, Blantyre has committed a suicide by hanging himself after testing HIV positive, police have confirmed.

Isaac Masangano who hailed from Kampala village, T/A Kapeni in Blantyre hung himself in his bedroom on Wednesday when he discovered he was HIV/Aids positive.

National police deputy Public Relations Officer, Nicholas Gondwa while commenting on the issue said the law-enforcers were worried with the increase of suicide cases in the country.

”Just within a day (30th September 2015), four people have died in suicide by hanging themselves for reasons that could have been solved had it been they shared their issues with other people,” explained Gondwa.

Another suicide case was recorded in Lilongwe where a 27-year-old Zebedeyo Moffat of Kauma location hung himself to the roof of his house.

Similar incident happened at Linthipe where a 60-year-old mother, Kundeule Afraki hung herself to the roof of a veranda of her house after picking a  mere quarrel with her children.

”The fourth one happened in Mbonani village, Sub T/ A Chanthunya in Balaka where a 20-year-old Frank Leonard killed himself in his bedroom,” said Gondwa.

Leonard, according to police, killed himself while his wife was away fetching water.

”This one (Leonard) was a well-known chamba smoker and had been seen shouting and speaking to himself. As police we are saddened with such alarming but avoidable deaths of this kind.

”We believe there are institutions both government and private that assist people who are aggrieved, rights violated or traumatized and need counselling,” added Gondwa.