A teenage girl and a young man on Tuesday committed suicide in different locations of Rumbek East County in Lakes State, local authorities confirmed.
The girl, identified as Laat Malith, 14, and a young man identified as Panther Buong Akec, 25, took their own lives in Maborkoc and Aganyder villages of Cuei-cok Payam in Rumbek East County respectively.
Meen Makuac Akec, a close relative of the deceased Buong Akec, revealed that he committed suicide on Tuesday at 7 am and his body was found hanging on a tree in a nearby forest.
“He did not communicate with anyone about his plan to commit suicide. He has a wound on the leg because he was one time shot and wounded in inter-communal clashes and it was treated well,” Makuac explained. “Recently when it got swollen, the parents took him to Rumbek hospital for treatment until he got healed and was able to work alone without using crutches.”
He said his cousin’s suicide was a great loss and shocked all the family members.
The head of the police in Cuei-cok Payam, Maker Agok, confirmed that they were investigating the incidents but had not yet established the cause of the suicides.
He confirmed that the two deceased committed suicide in different places; one in Abindeng and the other in Aganyder village of Cuei-cok Payam.
Daniel Laat Kon, the Lakes State coordinator for Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) attributed the suicide cases to personal conditions and economic hardships.
He said the young girl committed suicide because she was interrogated by her brother about being absent from home the previous night. As for Buong Akec, Laat corroborated that he was shot and wounded in the leg and had been undergoing treatment but unexpectedly took his life.
According to Laat, the suicide cases recorded in the state since the beginning of the year have risen to a total of 8.