By Weswa Ronnie
MBALE CITY
A tragic incident occurred in Mbale City, on Wednesday night, 2nd April, 2025 leaving the community in shock.
Raphael Apedo, a 13-year-old Primary 7 pupil of Nabuyonga Primary School, took his own life at his parents’ residence in Malukhu Ward, Industrial City Division.
According to Rogers Taitika, the Elgon Region Police Spokesperson, the pupil committed suicide by hanging himself inside his parents’ bedroom.
He says that preliminary findings indicate that the mother of deceased left for Kampala for a business trip during the month of February 2025 leaving behind a maid with the kids.
However, before leaving the deceased had removed a copy of mother’s bed room key. After the mother leaving, the deceased accessed a tablet phone the mother had removed from him and thereafter refused to go to school.
On Wednesday morning, the matter was reported to the mother by the landlady that Raphael was not going to school and had picked the key and accessed a tablet phone from the bedroom.
“When the mother blamed him, he got too annoyed and hanged himself from their bedroom,” says Taitika.
The deceased hanged himself in their bedroom using a piece of cloth tied on the metallic upper bed.
He says the police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine the motivations behind the minor’s actions.
Taitika revealed that the boy first communicated to his mother who was away from home and after a short while, she got the news of her son’s suicide.
Taitika urged parents to be vigilant and proactive in supporting their children, advising them to engage in open conversations to prevent such tragic incidents.
The body of the deceased pupil has been taken to Mbale City Mortuary for a postmortem examination.
