Man dies after setting self on fire in suicide mission in Kakamega 

FILE IMAGE OF A POLICE LINE

A 38-year-old man died after he set himself on fire in a suicide mission in Lumakanda, Kakamega County.

Police said Moffat Munubi set himself on fire in Bendera area on February 4.

Witnesses said he arrived home carrying a jerican full of petrol and confronted his wife in his house.

He also hit his wife with a hammer that he had injuring her.

The woman and her two young children were rescued from the house in the drama as the deceased locked himself there in.

He later set himself on fire. The fire also destroyed the house.

Locals added they knew the deceased had regular domestic differences with his wife.

There was a standoff between the villagers and police over the removal of the body to the mortuary pending an autopsy. The locals said it was a tradition not to remove such a body from the scene and the deceased should be buried at night.

Suicide cases have been on the rise amid efforts to address the trend.

The World Health Organisation says such cases are also attributed to joblessness, death, academic failures or pressures, legal difficulties and financial difficulties.

Other reasons are bullying, previous suicide attempts, history of suicide in a family, alcoholism and substance misuse, depression and bipolar disorder.

The government says efforts are being made to address the menace.

Elsewhere in Githumu, Muranga County, one John Maina Gitau, 80 died in a fire incident.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known, police said as they moved the body to the mortuary for autopsy and other procedures.