Murang’a man hangs self over Sh3,000 mobile app loan

A 25-year-old man from Githumu village in Kandara, Murang’a County committed suicide on June 17, 2019 after he was allegedly unable to repay a Sh3,000 loan which he had borrowed through a mobile phone app. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The body of Samuel Ng’ari was found dangling from the roof of his room on Monday evening.
  • Hi father said that Ng’ari must have locked his house from outside and used the window to get in.
  • Residents said he had expressed concerns that he had been unable to meet the deadline for repaying his loan

A 25-year-old man from Githumu village in Kandara, Murang’a County has committed suicide after he was allegedly unable to repay a Sh3,000 loan which he had borrowed through a mobile phone app.

The body of Samuel Ng’ari was found dangling from the roof of his room on Monday evening after he left his parents at their farm where they had gone to tend to crops.

According to his father, Robinson Kimani, they were together with their son in the farm when he excused himself without telling them where he was going.

ROPE

But later, the young man’s mother saw a rope hanging from the roof of her son’s room which is next to the kitchen.

“When we came from the farm, my wife went to the kitchen to prepare lunch and that’s when she saw a rope in the next room where my son sleeps and suspected something was wrong,” Mr Kimani told the Nation.

He said that Ng’ari must have locked his house from outside and used the window to get in his before committing suicide.

Locals told the Nation that the young man had expressed concerns that he had been unable to meet the deadline for repaying a soft loan from a popular mobile phone lending app which many youth have been using to borrow money.

LOAN DEFAULT

“He had been complaining that he had defaulted on a loan from a popular mobile phone lending app and had claimed that his name had been forwarded to the credit reference bureau,” a resident told the Nation.

Kandara OCPD Paul Wambugu said they have commenced investigations into the matter and urged the youth to always seek help whenever they are stressed or depressed by an issue.

LIFE'S SACRED

“It is the high time that people know that life is sacred. You don’t have to take your life because of an issue. Always speak it out and seek assistance and you may find that you are better off than other people; all what matters is for you to manage your problems,” he advised.

Last week, Senate Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen expressed concerns over the increased cases of suicide incidents in the country and proposed the creation of legal structures and budgeting to deal with the incidents.

“A time has come that we in parliament must come up with legal structures and budgeting exclusively to deal with the social sector because we are losing our children, brothers and sisters at a very high rate. The social workers [should be] trained to give wise counsel to the society since they relate and connect well with their village mates,” he said during a prize giving day at Karingu Secondary School in Kiharu.