By Aaron Okotel
MBALE CITY
Police in Mbale City are investigating a suspected suicide of a 19-year-old student who was found hanging inside her family’s home in Bumutoto Ward, Industrial Division.
The deceased has been identified as Namakoye Vanisa, a Senior Five student at Mbale Progressive Secondary School and a resident of Bunamwani Lower Cell in Bumutoto Ward.
According to the Elgon region police spokesperson, SP Rogers Taitika, preliminary findings indicate Namakoye was a close friend of the late Nelima Catherine, another teenager who on Wednesday 6th June 12, 2026 died in a similar suspected suicide case in Mbale.
According to police reports, Namakoye is believed to have committed the act between 10:30 p.m. and midnight on June 11, 2026 using a necktie to hang herself from a window burglar.
It is alleged that earlier in the evening, Namakoye had sent her younger sister with Shs10,000 to buy food for supper. However, the girl reportedly lost the money and returned home without the food. Angered by the incident, Namakoye allegedly assaulted her younger sister, prompting their grandmother to intervene and rescue the child.
When the deceased’s mother, Juliet Natulal, returned home, she was informed about the incident. Efforts by the mother to question her daughter reportedly failed after Namakoye locked herself in a room and refused to speak to anyone.
At around 9:30 p.m., Juliet left home for a nearby trading centre. She later returned at about midnight in the company of her husband, Moses Mutoto. Upon opening the room, the couple discovered their daughter hanging from a window burglar inside the house.
Police were alerted and responded to the scene.
Officers attached to the Homicide Department and Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) visited and examined the scene before conveying the body to Mbale City Mortuary for a post-mortem examination.
Authorities have urged parents, guardians, teachers and community leaders to pay close attention to the mental and emotional wellbeing of young people as investigations into the incident continue.
