Nine-year-old boy commits suicide in Nkhata Bay

Malawi: A Standard 3 student at Bwelelo Primary School in Nkhatabay District, died by hanging himself under the roof of his parents' house in Bwelero for unknown reasons.

According to Nkhata Bay Police PRO, Sergeant Kondwani James, the incident occurred on August 14, 2022, in the afternoon, while the boy was playing with his friends in the backyard.

He abruptly abandoned his friends and went into his parent's house, where he allegedly hanged himself.

When his mother entered the house, she discovered her son hanging and gasping for air. He was rescued and taken to the Nkhata Bay District Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A postmortem examination at the hospital revealed that the boy died from suffocation as a result of strangulation.

Meanwhile, police in the district have launched investigations to determine what motivated the boy to commit suicide.

The boy was from Katema Village in Nkhata Bay District's Traditional Authority Mankhambira.