Boy attempts to commit suicide over lack of school fees

A 14-year-old boy in Bula Kasarani village, Tana River County, was rescued as he tried to commit suicide.

The boy, who sat his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations last year, had decided to end his life after his parents failed to raise school fees to enable him join Form One.  

Abdirashid Guyo, a former pupil at Ama Primary School scored 366 marks and was admitted to Mpeketoni Secondary School.

Al-Abrar, an organisation that had promised to offer him a scholarship, failed to honour their promise at the last minute.  

Mr Bodha Barisa, the boy’s neighbour, said that noticed that he was unsettled and often cried. 

PRAYER

“I became curious when I saw the boy go behind their house with a rope in his hands, so I decided to follow him,” Mr Barisa told the Nation on Wednesday.

Mr Barisa said the boy tied the rope to a tree, made a noose around his neck before he uttered a prayer.

“Since I did not want to scare him, I quietly climbed the tree from behind and pounced on him before he could jump,” Mr Barisa narrated.

Mr Guyo Godhana, the boy’s father, said he did not take seriously his son’s threats to commit suicide.

"It never crossed my mind that he could make an attempt at his own life,” Mr Godhana said.

CALL POLICE

Mr Godhana said he later called a few elders who calmed down the boy and threatened to call the police should he try to commit suicide again. The elders promised to seek help from the county government.

However, an attempt to secure a bursary for the boy has not been successful since the governor’s office had disbursed bursaries to bright and needy students.

"We were advised to apply for bursary at the Ward Representative’s office, but this can only fetch Sh4,000 at most,” said Mr Godhana.

Mr Godhana says he has to sit at home and watch over his son as he prays for help to come since he has no cows nor land to sell and raise   over Sh50,000 to send his son to secondary school.