A NINE-YEAR-OLD boy from Lupane died last week after hanging himself in a mock suicide game he was playing with friends, Southern Eye has learnt.
By Richard Muponde
The incident happened on Tuesday last week in Lusulu village when the deceased was herding cattle with other children from the village.
Matabeleland North provincial police spokesperson Chief Inspector Spiwe Makonese yesterday confirmed the incident.
“Yes, we received such a report. We appeal to parents to take care of their children so that they do not get involved in activities which endanger their lives, especially such activities which might be termed ‘don’t try this at home’.
“These activities involve imitating wrestlers, boxers, and some fiction like activities which usually come out on televisions, as these might lead to unnecessary loss of life,” she said.
A source close to the matter said the deceased was in the company of other boys when they started playing a mock suicide game using a rope; imitating how people would hang themselves.
“They were playing this game at the grazing area where they tied a rope to a tree and one would come and place his neck around the knot and let the rope tighten around him, imitating how people committed suicide. Other boys did that and managed to loosen the grip. However, when it came to the boy’s turn, he failed to remove the rope and efforts by other boys also failed,” he said.
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The source said the other boys rushed back to the village to notify elders about the incident.
“However, when the elders arrived at the scene, he had already died. The matter was reported to Lupane police who attended the scene and removed his body. The body was taken to United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) for post-mortem,” he said.
An official at UBH mortuary, who spoke on condition of anonymity, yesterday confirmed that the body of the boy was conveyed to the morgue.
“It has since been collected for burial. But, indeed, the body came here for post-mortem which was done last week before his relatives collected the body for burial in Lupane,” he said.
