Zim Now Writer
A Form One pupil at a private school in Bulawayo’s Luveve suburb on Sunday evening committed suicide by hanging herself with a plastic rope from the roof truss in her bedroom.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube confirmed the suicide and said that police were conducting investigations into the issue.
“The tragedy has shocked the community, and the circumstances surrounding the suicide have raised many questions about the possible factors that may have contributed to the girl’s untimely death,” Inspector Abednico said.
The young girl’s eight-year-old sister was in the same room and watched as her sister took her own life.
The late pupil’s brother described his sister as a “very quiet person but always smiling.”
“My sister was a very quiet person, but she was always smiling. She had gone out and met my father by the corner and asked him where he was going. My father told her he was going to buy some relish. When she arrived at the house, there was my little sister. She took some plastic-like rope and hanged herself from the roof truss in her bedroom.
“She didn’t leave any message, nor did she say anything to my younger sister. When my younger sister went to tell the people who lodge in the house at the back, it was already too late as she had died. This is painful,” he said.
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The deceased’s uncle said that the girl might have faced abuse and that could have been the reason for her suicide.
He revealed that the girl’s mother had died last year in South Africa and that the father refused to allow the children to bury her in the village in Gwamba area in Nkayi.
“This suicide is troubling to us and we’re forced to think many things. We suspect that maybe the girl was being abused and just suffered in silence because there’s no other way to explain this painful incident.
“I just arrived and I’m waiting for the father to arrive so that we can talk but I’m not happy with the disrespect he has shown to our family,” the uncle said.
A pastor’s wife from a nearby Baptist Church expressed her sorrow at the girl’s death. She revealed that the church had been supporting the children, together with neighbours in the area, after both parents left the children for South Africa.
“In life, things are not always fair, but we supported them wherever we could,” she said.
The pastor’s wife described the girl as a bright child who would greet people and offer to do chores whenever the need arose.
The deceased’s father was unavailable for comment as he had gone to Mpilo Central Hospital to obtain burial papers for his daughter.
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