A 12-year-old girl who was in Standard 6 in Dowa has hanged herself in a Soya bean field.
Mponela police station publicist inspector Kaitano Lubrino confirmed and identified the girl as Dorothy Boniface who took her own life during the midday of February 6 2021 at Katuta Village in Senior Chief Kayembe’s area in Dowa.
The girl’s mother Esinta Mphanda aged 51, who comes from the same village told police that she left a child under Dorothy’s care and went to Mponela Trading Centre for other engagements.
“The mother said that before leaving she instructed Dorothy to prepare porridge for the sibling a thing which she did not do. Upon Esinta’s arrival, she learnt that the victim had not been fed, she opted to buy a cup of tea from a nearby tea-room only for the baby.
“It is believed that this did not go well with Dorothy who in retaliation sneaked into a Soya bean field where she hanged herself,” said Lubrino.
She was later discovered by a group of kids within the village.
Postmortem conducted by experts from Mponela Rural Hospital revealed that Dorothy died due to suffocation secondary to strangulation.
Meanwhile, Police have instituted investigations to establish the motive behind her self-killing.
Police are also appealing to all parents and guardians to speak to their children about suicide, saying there is an increase of suicide case*s among children.
