News / Regional
Man commits suicide after squandering family wealth
31 Dec 2015 at 10:32hrs | Views
A Tsholotsho man allegedly committed suicide, fearing his injiva brothers would kill him after he sold their property and went on a beer drinking spree.
Mandla Nkomo, 42, a former police officer and one time computer technician at Tsholotsho District Hospital allegedly hanged himself in his bedroom hut on Sunday.
Neighbours discovered the body a few hours later.
Nkomo's brothers, according to sources, had put him in charge of the family property after he was fired from the hospital recently.
A neighbour, Nkulumani Mpofu, said Nkomo was not himself in past weeks, after hearing his brothers would come home for Christmas.
"He kept saying he feared what his family members would do to him when they discovered that he had been selling both his late father and sister, Naomi Nkomo's property," said Mpofu .
"Nkomo had sold most of his late father and sister's belongings, including livestock and furniture which was supposed to be shared among all family members.
"On Saturday he sold a set of sofas at Tsholotsho centre and drowned himself on Two Keys whiskey saying he was relieving himself of stress."
Mpofu said later that day, Nkomo announced he was selling a residential stand which, it later turned out, belonged to Naomi.
"The stand belonged to his late sister. His uncle, Lot Nkomo, had summoned him that morning, warning him to stop selling property that belonged to the family," said Mpofu.
He said his uncle had suggested they call his elder sister from Bulawayo so that they discuss the matter but Nkomo insisted it was useless because she would not find him.
"We all didn't expect him to kill himself. We thought he would just relocate to South Africa.
"We last saw Nkomo on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon one of the neighbours sent her child to ask for salt from Nkomo who lived alone. The child found his bedroom door open and saw him hanging dead," said Mpofu.
Ward 12 Councillor Melusi Ndebele said he was shocked by the suicide.
"I heard he was going through some stress but didn't see it coming this far.
"The sad part is that his sister had rushed to Tsholotsho to hear of her brother's problems. She went to her uncle's home to get a briefing on what was bothering Nkomo.
"While she was still there, she saw people flocking to her uncle's home crying and saying Nkomo had been found dead," said Ndebele.
The councillor advised villagers never to resort to suicide as a solution to problems.
"This has become a bloodied festive season which we don't expect. People should be looking forward to seeing their friends, relatives, not coming over with intentions to kill others.
"We should be celebrating, and having fun but many homes are nursing wounds right now which is bad indeed," he said.
Mandla Nkomo, 42, a former police officer and one time computer technician at Tsholotsho District Hospital allegedly hanged himself in his bedroom hut on Sunday.
Neighbours discovered the body a few hours later.
Nkomo's brothers, according to sources, had put him in charge of the family property after he was fired from the hospital recently.
A neighbour, Nkulumani Mpofu, said Nkomo was not himself in past weeks, after hearing his brothers would come home for Christmas.
"He kept saying he feared what his family members would do to him when they discovered that he had been selling both his late father and sister, Naomi Nkomo's property," said Mpofu .
"Nkomo had sold most of his late father and sister's belongings, including livestock and furniture which was supposed to be shared among all family members.
"On Saturday he sold a set of sofas at Tsholotsho centre and drowned himself on Two Keys whiskey saying he was relieving himself of stress."
Mpofu said later that day, Nkomo announced he was selling a residential stand which, it later turned out, belonged to Naomi.
"The stand belonged to his late sister. His uncle, Lot Nkomo, had summoned him that morning, warning him to stop selling property that belonged to the family," said Mpofu.
He said his uncle had suggested they call his elder sister from Bulawayo so that they discuss the matter but Nkomo insisted it was useless because she would not find him.
"We all didn't expect him to kill himself. We thought he would just relocate to South Africa.
"We last saw Nkomo on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon one of the neighbours sent her child to ask for salt from Nkomo who lived alone. The child found his bedroom door open and saw him hanging dead," said Mpofu.
Ward 12 Councillor Melusi Ndebele said he was shocked by the suicide.
"I heard he was going through some stress but didn't see it coming this far.
"The sad part is that his sister had rushed to Tsholotsho to hear of her brother's problems. She went to her uncle's home to get a briefing on what was bothering Nkomo.
"While she was still there, she saw people flocking to her uncle's home crying and saying Nkomo had been found dead," said Ndebele.
The councillor advised villagers never to resort to suicide as a solution to problems.
"This has become a bloodied festive season which we don't expect. People should be looking forward to seeing their friends, relatives, not coming over with intentions to kill others.
"We should be celebrating, and having fun but many homes are nursing wounds right now which is bad indeed," he said.
Source - Chronicle
