<Em>CRIME WATCH</EM>: Suicide Victims Can Be Detected Early
Oct 01, 2003
O n September 9, Lukia Namatovu, 58, was found hanging on a rope in her home in Lukuli-Konge in Makindye. She had committed suicide. On September 13, James Kikule, 16, a nephew to Maj. Gen. James Kazini was reported to have committed suicide at Ggaba in Kampala.
O n September 9, Lukia Namatovu, 58, was found hanging on a rope in her home in Lukuli-Konge in Makindye. She had committed suicide. On September 13, James Kikule, 16, a nephew to Maj. Gen. James Kazini was reported to have committed suicide at Ggaba in Kampala.
On September 16, Sgt. Warder John Okello of Luzira Prison Training School shot himself. Only one week, in one district, three cases of suicide were reported. Are we seeing an increase in suicide cases in Uganda?
According to Elizabeth Kutesa, the director of CID, there is no cause for alarm. “I wouldn’t say it is a big problem as such, just the usual cases that happen once in a while,†she said. Of course suicide is an ordinary occurrence in a normal society.
Kutesa said with the different hardships in life, people are bound to commit suicide. She, however, said such people can be detected earlier especially when they utter such statements as “I want to die, I will kill myself, I wish I could die.â€
Unfortunately, police statistics would not show the extent of the problem of suicide because it is not an offence to commit suicide since you have nobody to charge of the offence. The law would therefore have been redundant to establish an offence where the responsible person is long dead.
However, it is an offence if one tried to kill oneself and does not succeed. The law punishes such a person for trying to end life so that he/she does not do it again, and to discourage others intending to do so. Section 203 of the Penal Code Act creates the offence of attempted suicide and considers it a minor crime punishable by not more than three years in prison on conviction.
The contradiction here is that when one tries to kill one’s self, one serves less than three years in prison and on the other hand, if one attempts to take away life of another person (attempted murder), one is imprisoned for life, yet both are lives.
However, it is also known that people who attempt to commit suicide are frustrated fellows. They are in most cases suffering from psychological disorders, have lost self-recognition, respect, trust and appreciation or they are so lonely and cannot interact with others. It is likely that the law makers put these factors into consideration.
It is, however, important to note that when one aids another to commit suicide, the one who aids gets a more severe punishment than the one who has been aided. Section 202 of the Penal Code Act creates the offence of Aiding Suicide and states that any person who:
(a) Procures another to kill him/herself; or
(b) Counsels another to kill himself and thereby induces him to do so; or
(c) Aids another to kill himself; is guilty of a felony (major crime) and is liable to imprisonment for life on conviction.
The one that aids is punished more because he/she ought to have helped the victim out of the situation, or at-least would have reported the intention to authorities than lending a hand. It is important therefore to be on the look out for people who exhibit symptoms of suicide.
Ends
On September 16, Sgt. Warder John Okello of Luzira Prison Training School shot himself. Only one week, in one district, three cases of suicide were reported. Are we seeing an increase in suicide cases in Uganda?
According to Elizabeth Kutesa, the director of CID, there is no cause for alarm. “I wouldn’t say it is a big problem as such, just the usual cases that happen once in a while,†she said. Of course suicide is an ordinary occurrence in a normal society.
Kutesa said with the different hardships in life, people are bound to commit suicide. She, however, said such people can be detected earlier especially when they utter such statements as “I want to die, I will kill myself, I wish I could die.â€
Unfortunately, police statistics would not show the extent of the problem of suicide because it is not an offence to commit suicide since you have nobody to charge of the offence. The law would therefore have been redundant to establish an offence where the responsible person is long dead.
However, it is an offence if one tried to kill oneself and does not succeed. The law punishes such a person for trying to end life so that he/she does not do it again, and to discourage others intending to do so. Section 203 of the Penal Code Act creates the offence of attempted suicide and considers it a minor crime punishable by not more than three years in prison on conviction.
The contradiction here is that when one tries to kill one’s self, one serves less than three years in prison and on the other hand, if one attempts to take away life of another person (attempted murder), one is imprisoned for life, yet both are lives.
However, it is also known that people who attempt to commit suicide are frustrated fellows. They are in most cases suffering from psychological disorders, have lost self-recognition, respect, trust and appreciation or they are so lonely and cannot interact with others. It is likely that the law makers put these factors into consideration.
It is, however, important to note that when one aids another to commit suicide, the one who aids gets a more severe punishment than the one who has been aided. Section 202 of the Penal Code Act creates the offence of Aiding Suicide and states that any person who:
(a) Procures another to kill him/herself; or
(b) Counsels another to kill himself and thereby induces him to do so; or
(c) Aids another to kill himself; is guilty of a felony (major crime) and is liable to imprisonment for life on conviction.
The one that aids is punished more because he/she ought to have helped the victim out of the situation, or at-least would have reported the intention to authorities than lending a hand. It is important therefore to be on the look out for people who exhibit symptoms of suicide.
Ends