adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
DETERMINED to end her life, a 65-year-old woman who drank a pesticide in a bid to kill herself fled from a clinic where she was being treated and hanged herself.Florence Komichi, of Hungwa Village in Ndolwane, Bulilima district, was overwhelmed after she was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection.
Komichi’s first unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide after drinking a pesticide did not deter her from her fatal mission.
She fled from the clinic at around 3AM and hanged herself from a tree.
Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson Inspector Philani Ndebele said: “We received a report on an adult woman who drank a pesticide and later fled from the hospital. She was discovered dead in a suspected case of hanging. Investigations are in progress to ascertain the circumstances surrounding her death.”
Komichi’s husband, Danger Gumbo, said his wife fled from Ndolwane Clinic on Monday morning where she was being attended to after drinking Actellic Super Chirinda Matura at their homestead.
He said his wife had been ill since 2010 after contracting an STI and they made several attempts to get medical help, but her condition kept on deteriorating.
Last Friday, after Komichi was diagnosed with tuberculosis, she lost all hope to live and refused to take her medication.
Gumbo said on Sunday afternoon, his children found their mother vomiting after she had consumed the pesticide and she was taken to the clinic.
“I guarded her that night and she went to the toilet on several occasions but I was accompanying her each time. I fell asleep around 3AM and when I woke up few minutes later she was gone.”
He said he proceeded to his homestead searching for her, but could not locate her, prompting him to alert other villagers.
Gumbo said his wife, who was always complaining that a lot of money had been wasted in getting her treated, was found dead on Monday in a bushy area near the clinic after hanging herself.
Komichi’s brother in law, Christopher Gumbo, said the search started in the morning and her body was discovered around 12PM on Monday.
“Her body was on the ground which means that the bark fibre she used was not strong enough to hold her weight and it separated. There was a bark fibre around her neck and another was hanging from the tree,” said Christopher.
Gumbo said his wife’s death had hit the family hard.
Online Reporter