Ajabu Africa News

PHOTO:

The Late Winnie Wangui Kabue. PIC BY COURTESY.

By:

HARRISON MAINA

Posted:

Aug,25-2018 13:29:44

LOWELL, Mass.__A 25 year old Kenyan girl died Wednesday in an apparent suicide in Lowell near Boston after doctors fighting frantically to revive her gave up after 3 days on life support.

The shocking development took place last Saturday at the family's home on Bowers Street, sending many in the entire Kenyan community in the area into panic mode and outright shock as suicide rates among youthful Kenyans in New England and entire USA continue to rise unabated.

According to multiple reliable sources, the late Winnie Wangui Kabue hanged herself with a belt attached to a hook on a door inside her bedroom moments after her mother left the house to run some errands.

The girl's father who had been working in the basement of the home waiting for his wife to return so they could all head to Logan airport to pick up a younger sister, told family and friends that he did not hear or notice the shocking developments until the mother returned and knocked on her bedroom door to no response.

"It is after a good amount of time knocking with no response that the mother sensed something was wrong. She called the father and they decided to break the door to find out why she was not responding. Unfortunately, they found her on the floor with the belt around her neck as the hook holding the belt broke from the weight during the process. However, she was still alive but in really bad shape," sources on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the circumstances.

The frantic parents and neighbors summoned emergency crews who immediately administered CPR then transported the late Kenyan to the Lowell General Hospital for treatment.

"She was immediately taken to the ICU and placed on life support. Unfortunately, she remained non responsive and never came to. After two days, the doctors gave up and a decision to pull the plug was made. It seems like too much time had passed between when she hanged herself and when the family discovered. It's very sad and unfortunate. We really sympathize with what the family is going through," sources added.

According to Irene Munene, the chairlady of the funeral organizing committee, the late Winnie died after 3 days in the hospital following a short illness. She said that the cause of death is still under investigation and the family is awaiting post mortem results.

The Late Winnie Kabue. PIC BY COURTESY.

"We still don't know what happened. It's only the family who can tell, but we are waiting for post mortem results," Irene told Ajabu Media on the phone from Lowell.

However, many Kenyans close to the family and in the community are aware of the actual developments and had more information on the sad situation. Reports indicate that the late Wangui graduated from the Bay PathUniversity in Longmeadow Massachusetts specializing in forensic science a few years ago and secured a job with a company in Boston.

However, she quit the job a few months ago but did not inform the parents or friends why she had made the decision.

Reports further indicate that the late Wangui seemed to be struggling with her emotions as she mostly kept to herself and did not socialize much, although she was active in the church at St. Michael Parish in Lowell.

"She used to read the bible in church and helped in serving snacks and food. She acted very normally in church," sources told Ajabu Media.

Similar sentiments were expresses by others who knew the family closely. They said that the parents had no idea their daughter was struggling with a certain issue recently or whether she was involved in a fight with a friend. Sources indicated that the Lowell police took the late Wangui's electronics to search for clues that might have gone unnoticed.

However, "a search on her facebook and social media accounts did not yield any alarming messages and no suicide note was retrieved at the scene," sources added.

Shocked family and friends have been meeting at the family's apartment for prayers and funeral planning. A memorial and fundraiser has been planned to take place tomorrow Sunday at the St. Michael's Catholic Church located at 543 Bridge Street in Lowell at 3pm.

Kenyans in the area were requested to help the family organize and raise funds for burial and other logistics.

Wangui's death adds to a rising statistic of young Kenyans in USA dying by suicide. Last year, another young Kenyan girl committed suicide in the same city of Lowell by drug overdose, leaving behind a 9 year old daughter.

Two weeks later, a 25 year old Kenyan boy took his life by filling a closet in an attic room within his father's apartment in Worcester with some hazardous chemicals he purchased online; initiated a chemical reaction, then locked himself inside until he passed away. Hazmat officers and emergency crews in special protective suits from the City of Worcester had to shut down the entire street to retrieve the body.(Recap:Kenyan man commits suicide in Worcester near Boston)

There have been reports of many Kenyans found dead in their apartments which have also turned out to be suicide related. However, traumatized families unable to come to terms with the actions by their loved ones have declined to inform the community at large on the real cause of death, preferring to keep it under the wraps waiting for time to pass and hopefully erase the memories.

3 months ago, another young Kenyan man also in Massachusetts died in unclear circumstances for allegedly having "fallen off a balcony" from his fourth floor apartment in Malden. Most Kenyans suspect suicide but the family has never come out with the details even after months of waiting for the coroner's report.

However, with the increasing number of suicides among Kenyans in the USA, many concerned members of the community are asking for a community wide conversation to debate the real issues that have continued to depress some of their children to a point of no return.

Community members as asking for families whose children pass away by suicide not to fear letting the community know since it is a social problem that is affecting all.

Many concerned Kenyans as also asking church leaders who conduct funerals services to help the community and families come to terms with the true cause of death instead of just leading the community in ceremonies on inaccurate or inadequate information.

Many community networking websites that rush to pick up such death announcements on social media were asked to do some due diligence by asking simple questions of the cause of death and reporting accurately---instead of reposting the same information on social media as is---thereby misleading the entire community and thwarting the quest for solutions.

"If members of the community are asked to come and help fundraise for a funeral, then it would be fair to let them know the true cause of death, whether it's by suicide or something else. Telling people that that the cause is unknown and will be provided after the post mortem report is not fair since no one will have time to mobilize the community again to tell them about the post mortem reports," community members interviewed by Ajabu Media said.

"This is the only way we can be able to know what's going on with our children and find a way to help them deal with difficult issues from a cultural point of view that they can identify with and which families may not be well suited to do. Many of our Kenyan youths getting of age feel trapped between the western and traditional cultures, so as a community we need to help them process things better. Kenyans need to put their many differences apart and help our children," a source added.

Other concerned members of the community who reached Ajabu Media said that the identity crisis among the Diaspora youth is real and needs to be addressed in very compassionate settings where everyone feels welcome.

"This cannot be ignored and swept under the rug anymore by any concerned and responsible community leaders brave enough to step up to the challenge by incorporating even those they feel they can't get along with. We have a very big crisis right now," a very concerned father of three added.

Among the dozens of suicides that have cut short the lives of many Kenyans in USA, only one family in Atlanta Georgia was able to inform the public of the actual cause when popular social media female body builder, Jane Mukami reported on the apparent suicide of her younger brother, the late ex US Army Veteran, the Stephen Githehu which occurred in July 2017. (Recap here:Kenyan man commits suicide in Atlanta, Georgia)

A youthful Ugandan church elder serving at the New Life Ministries in Medford Massachusetts, committed suicide last week for allegedly spotting pictures of his wife getting engaged to another man on Face book. (Recap:Ugandan Pastor commits suicide in Boston after wife marries new man).

Many more suicide deaths have gone unreported as the Diaspora media has been unable to keep up with reporting due to financial constraints, underscoring the complex set of circumstances prevailing among the Kenyan and African immigrant communities that conspire to slow down solutions to severe social problems.

For anyone who knows a friend or family member struggling with suicidal thoughts, free support is available in USA by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number at: 1-800-273-8255

Source:

AJABU AFRICAN NEWS