A 30 feet footbridge along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway is under scrutiny after reports of several suicide cases.
The footbridge is designed in a way that pieces of metal are interconnected to form a web to a certain point and afterward, an open space where a human being can squeeze through.
The bridge, which is located near the Nakuru Central Business District (CBD), has reported around five deaths since December 2019.
The latest incident took place on Sunday, July 12, where a young lady jumped to her death on the highway.
“The highway was as busy as usual and suddenly a loud noise was heard. People then started shouting after they realized that it was a lady who had jumped from the bridge,” a correspondent in Nakuru.
Nakuru East Sub-County Deputy Police Commander Phanton Analo confirmed the horrific incident and stated that the motive of the suicide was yet to be established.
“The woman didn’t have any identification documents on her at the time of the incident. Her body was taken to the county morgue and an inquest file opened,” Analo stated.
Yet again, on April 25, a similar incident took place after a 28-year-old man jumped off the bridge. The man’s father, Burton Onyaru, indicated that his son was battling depression after he and his wife got separated.
“As a parent, I felt he was not at peace,” he told the Standard.
A task force that had been put together by President Uhuru Kenyatta on July 8, handed a report to the Ministry of Health urging CS Mutahi Kagwe to declare mental illness a national public health emergency.
The report presented to the CS indicated that one in every 10 Kenyans suffers from one form of mental disorder.
Some of the mental illnesses include depression and anxiety disorders, followed by substance use disorders.
Dr. Mucheru Wang’ombe, a mental health consultant, told that young adults and the elderly are more prone to committing suicide, adding that more females attempt the act but clarified that more males see it through to the end.
