A 25-year-old man, identified as Beda Allam, over the weekend took his own life after beating his mother into a coma over lack of food in Oronyo Village in Eastern Equatoria State’s Torit County.
According to local authorities, the deceased asked for food, but his mother said they could not cook due to the economic crisis, and this angered Allam, who then set upon beating his mother. The woman is currently nursing her injuries at Oronyo Primary Health Care Center.
Last year, a man beat his wife to death for not kneeling while serving him food in Oronyo.
Kanuto Atari Inyasio, the chief of Oronyo, told Radio Tamazuj that the incident happened on Saturday at around 8:30 p.m.
“He (Allam) asked his mother for food and the mother replied that there were no vegetables but only porridge on fire that he should wait for,” he explained. “He got angry, picked up a stick, and beat his mother into a coma. After realizing the mother was in a coma, he went to a neighbor, picked up a gu,n and decided to shoot himself.”
For his part, Torit County Commissioner Christopher Andrew confirmed the incident and attributed it to stress resulting from excessive consumption of alcohol.
“I got the information that a 25-year-old man called Allam went home and asked his mother for food, and the mother replied that she was preparing porridge for him. He started quarrelling and asking why they always prepare porridge and beans,” he explained. “He pushed the mother, who fell and was injured by a stone and became unconscious. He thought his mother was dead, and he picked a gun and shot himself dead.”
“All this is due to stress, and in all these cases, the people are drunk from consuming the local drink called Takaya, which is destroying our youth. The youth should engage in economic activities to reduce stress,” the commissioner added.