Man dies by suicide in car set on fire, as his 3 children are rescued in Olkalou
Villagers rescued three minors from a suicidal man who later died by suicide in a village in Olkalou, Nyandarua County.
The man set ablaze his private car that he used to kill himself therein on Sunday morning, police said.
The motive of the incident was not known. Locals and police said the man identified as John Chege, 41 had threatened to die by suicide together with his three children aged 14, 12 and ten.
He then placed the three children in his Probox car and set it on fire. Locals responded and rescued the three children leaving the man to die.
This was after he threatened them with a panga and a crowbar he had armed himself with, police said.
He hit and injured one man in the head in the drama.
Police said he then got back to his car where he burnt to death. The body was later removed from the wreckage and moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy. The rescued children were later rescued with their mother pending an investigation.
Police say cases of suicide 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.
And two police cars were attacked and damaged as they rescued a suspect from a mob in Maralal, Samburu County.
The suspect was wanted over murder in the Loikas area and had hidden in a house when a mob confronted him.
The police were informed of the incident and rushed to the scene. They managed to rescue the man from the house in the drama on Sunday afternoon. It was then that the mob stoned the two police vehicles as they demanded the suspect be handed to them for lynching.
The police vehicles had their windows shattered in the drama as police lobbed teargas canisters to disperse the angry gang.
They managed to drive away with the suspect.