Man climbs high-voltage power pole, threatens to kill self over ‘inability to find a wife’

By Kigotho Mwangi

A middle-aged man from Kirima Village in Timboroa, Baringo County, on Wednesday shocked area residents, when he climbed a high-voltage electric power transmission steeltower pole and threatened to plunge to his death.

The man, identified only as Ndung’u, claimed he was frustrated that he could not get a wife.

Ndung’u further said life had become financially unbearable, making it hard for him to feed himself.

On Wednesday afternoon, Ndung’u went and scaled an electric pole near Timboroa Forest on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway, threatening to kill himself over his frustrations.

As at the time of going to press at 6:06pm Wednesday, Ndung’u was still high up on the pole. Police were yet to arrive at the scene three hours into the incident.

In 2018, the World Population Review ranked Kenya at Position 114 among 175 countries with the highest suicide rates.

According to a study by the World Health Organisation, Kenya’s suicide rate is currently at least 6.5 suicides per 100,000 people. The report goes on to show that out of the 421 suicide cases reported in 2017, 330 involved men.

(Additional reporting by Susan Kogi)