Residents and police officers in Kagio town, Kirinyaga County, are shocked by the suicide death of a 59-year-old well-known barber in his shop. 

According to Kirinyaga West sub-county police commander Moses Koskei, who verified the incident, Josphat Wanjohi, 59, hanged himself in his shop with a piece of cloth.

"It is a shocking incident considering that two men from my sub-county committed suicide on Saturday and Sunday and are now in the mortuary," Koskei remarked. 

Koskei claimed that because he had locked himself inside his shop before the incident, it was difficult for the police and locals of Kagio to break into it.


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''The first incident happened on Saturday at Mururi-ini village where a 47-year-old man hanged himself and on Sunday another man aged 38 hanged himself at Ngugu-ini village. Sadly, men are taking their own lives,'' Koskei added. 

Residents of Kagio described Wanjohi as a hard worker.

"He was one of the first barbers in this town, and I spoke with him before committing suicide, and he told me they had an issue with his wife this morning after he went home late, and had spent the entire day drinking over stress," Peter Muriithi said.

The five men who have committed suicide in Kirinyaga since Saturday have alarmed the locals.

On Saturday, two men died in Kirinyaga Central: a 47-year-old man in Mururi-ini village in Ndi and a 50-year-old man in Githioro village.

In another instance, a man in his 60s committed suicide in Mwea East Sub County.

A 38-year-old man committed suicide in Ndia's Nguguini village on Sunday, and on Wednesday, Ndia's Kagio village reported another incident.


The Association of Counselling and Psychological Association (KCPA) chairman for Kirinyaga, Kamau Muchira, believes that suicide is a serious issue that must be addressed to stop its negative effects from spreading throughout the area.

"We are very worried much worried, as men are more likely to commit suicide than women suicide is a hugely sensitive and complex issue with a tangled multitude of causes," Muchira said. 

The startling rise in male suicides in the area has alarmed the Kirinyaga branch of the Association of Counselling.