Health official cautions on suicide victims
Aug 10, 2008
PEOPLE who commit suicide should not be regarded as criminals until their circumstances are assessed, a senior health ministry official has said.
By Anthony Bugembe
PEOPLE who commit suicide should not be regarded as criminals until their circumstances are assessed, a senior health ministry official has said.
Dr. Sheila Ndyanabangi, the principal mental health officer, noted that those who commit suicide or homicide (murder) could be having problems.
“Our law is still treating suicide as a crime. We need to review the legal system to decriminalise suicide. These people should have the opportunity to be assessed and treated,†she said. If they are found without any mental problem, then they can be handed over for prosecution.â€
Ndyanabangi was on Friday addressing journalists on the recent reports of grisly murders. On July 30, Margaret Kasande, a resident of Kamwokya, a Kampala suburb, strangled her four children to death.
A day earlier, a man in Bushenyi district allegedly hacked to death five of his family members and later killed himself.
Dr. Julius Muron, a psychiatrist at Butabika mental hospital, said suicide was more common in northern Uganda.
“However, studies countrywide reported suicide attempts in 18-35% of the population.â€
Police records indicate 1,927 homicide cases in 2007. Welfare schemes, suggested James Mugisha, the head of social work at Butabika, could help reduce depression among individuals and control suicide cases.
“Social networks give people in problems a fall-back position.
“In the past, we had welfare schemes in our communities but they collapsed due to modernisation and commercialisation. We should get back to the old traditional systems,†he said.
Mugisha also attributed the increasing cases of suicide and homicide to lack of specialised counselling.
“What we have is basic counselling, particularly for those taking HIV tests. So, many people remain stressed and depressed, increasing their vulnerability to suicide.â€
Ndyanabangi called for tighter control of access to drugs and poisons and the screening of people intending to join the security forces for mental disorders.
PEOPLE who commit suicide should not be regarded as criminals until their circumstances are assessed, a senior health ministry official has said.
Dr. Sheila Ndyanabangi, the principal mental health officer, noted that those who commit suicide or homicide (murder) could be having problems.
“Our law is still treating suicide as a crime. We need to review the legal system to decriminalise suicide. These people should have the opportunity to be assessed and treated,†she said. If they are found without any mental problem, then they can be handed over for prosecution.â€
Ndyanabangi was on Friday addressing journalists on the recent reports of grisly murders. On July 30, Margaret Kasande, a resident of Kamwokya, a Kampala suburb, strangled her four children to death.
A day earlier, a man in Bushenyi district allegedly hacked to death five of his family members and later killed himself.
Dr. Julius Muron, a psychiatrist at Butabika mental hospital, said suicide was more common in northern Uganda.
“However, studies countrywide reported suicide attempts in 18-35% of the population.â€
Police records indicate 1,927 homicide cases in 2007. Welfare schemes, suggested James Mugisha, the head of social work at Butabika, could help reduce depression among individuals and control suicide cases.
“Social networks give people in problems a fall-back position.
“In the past, we had welfare schemes in our communities but they collapsed due to modernisation and commercialisation. We should get back to the old traditional systems,†he said.
Mugisha also attributed the increasing cases of suicide and homicide to lack of specialised counselling.
“What we have is basic counselling, particularly for those taking HIV tests. So, many people remain stressed and depressed, increasing their vulnerability to suicide.â€
Ndyanabangi called for tighter control of access to drugs and poisons and the screening of people intending to join the security forces for mental disorders.