A 32-year-old woman identified as Hellen Night Ohisa was found dead in the Hai Morwari suburb of Torit Town, the capital of Eastern Equatoria State, over the weekend.
Sources say the deceased, who was drunk, disappeared from home a day before being found dead. Rumors earlier made rounds that the woman had been raped and hanged to death.
According to health officials, after conducting a postmortem, the deceased is suspected to have died of dehydration from excessive alcohol consumption.
Torit Municipal Council Mayor Mustafa Albino Zachariah refuted the information that the woman was attacked and told the media that she drank too much alcohol.
“I have the full details because I was the first person to rush when they called me. Part of this news is right and part of it is wrong because she was not killed but died alone since she overloaded herself with booze and got dehydrated,” he said. “We checked the scene and there was no sign of a struggle. When she was taken to the hospital, it was found that it was a natural death due to dehydration. So, what is circulating in town is not true. She is approximately 30 years old.”
For his part, Francis Iwaa, the administrator at Torit State Hospital, said the deceased whose underwear was found with traces of urine died of lack of sugar in the blood resulting from alcoholism. He clarified that overconsumption of alcohol without eating food drains sugar and urged citizens to drink responsibly.
“This woman is aged 32 and called Hellen Night Ohisa. During medical examinations, health personnel did not find any signs that someone beat her to death because whenever someone is about to be killed, they will always try to defend themselves but this woman’s body was found clean,” he explained. “It was found that her underwear had urine and according to her family, the late always consumed a lot of alcohol. She was found dead on Sunday morning near their home. When someone drinks alcohol without eating food, he or she will die because of lack of sugar in the body.”
Meanwhile, Flora Anyu, the deputy chairperson of the Eastern Equatoria State Women’s Association, cautioned citizens against excessive consumption of alcohol and highlighted the alarming deaths resulting from overconsumption of alcohol in the state.
“Such deaths really hurt, there are a lot of bad things happening to women, and I am urging women that excessive consumption of alcohol and night movements are risky for the women and girls,” she cautioned. “Desist from excessive consumption of alcohol because death cases related to alcoholism are too high. Our government should also help us by instituting security patrols to protect citizens.”