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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
A FORM 4 pupil at Tahangana Secondary School in Mangwe District allegedly committed suicide by drinking a dipping chemical mixed with oil after being reportedly reprimanded by his mother for bringing a girlfriend home.His family, however, attributed Njabulo Dube’s suicide to heartbreak after being dumped by his high school sweetheart for a man based in Botswana.

Eighteen-year-old Njabulo of Ngwanyana area is said to have drank a litre of a dipping chemical on Monday morning. He was admitted at the Plumtree District Hospital where he died on Wednesday afternoon.

Chief Wasi confirmed the incident which occurred in his area.

He said according to a report he received, Njabulo took his girlfriend, a Form 3 pupil at the same school, to his parents’ homestead.

The boy’s mother, Cherry Ndebele, allegedly scolded him for bringing a girl home in her presence.

“It appears the teenager’s mother was angered by her son’s bringing home his girlfriend. She ordered the girl to leave her homestead and warned her son against associating with the girl again. A few days later, Njabulo drank dip chemical,” said Chief Wasi who also lamented the increase of suicide cases involving teenagers.

The late teenager’s aunt, Laiza Ndebele, said the family learnt that the boy was dumped by his girlfriend (name supplied) on Thursday last week.

She said from that day her late nephew started acting in a strange manner but did not disclose to his mother what was bothering him.

Laiza Ndebele said when the girl dumped her nephew, she indicated that she was now in love with another man who works in Botswana.

She said according to her nephew’s friend, the girl pointed out that she wanted to be in a relationship with someone who could cater for her financial  needs.

“Even if it was true that my sister scolded Njabulo, I doubt that this could have prompted the boy to kill himself because that incident occurred two weeks ago.

“I suspect my nephew took his life because of the break-up with his girlfriend. When the girl received the news of the boy’s death on Wednesday, she was in class. The girl ran out of the class in tears and went on to hide in the toilets. I think she was probably feeling guilty,” said Laiza Ndebele.

She said her nephew was found by his mother and siblings lying on the floor who then rushed him to the hospital.

Laiza Ndebele said they did not get the chance to find out the reason why Njabulo took his life as could not speak until the time he died.
Njabulo is expected to be buried today at his parents’ homestead.

In another incident, a 22-year-old Bulilima man based in South Africa tried to drink a dipping chemical thrice but failed in a bid to end his life.

Ngoni Tshuma of Village 5 in Vulindlela wanted to commit suicide after his wife had discovered that he was HIV positive. He had kept his HIV status a secret from his 20-year old wife, Portia Ncube.

The woman, however, discovered her husband’s big secret on Wednesday after she found his hospital card among his belongings.

“Tshuma tried to drink the chemical twice but was stopped by his wife and relatives on both occasions. On the third attempt Tshuma succeeded in drinking the chemical but failed to kill himself after the timely intervention of his relatives and neighbours,” said a relative.

The senior village head of the area, Lawrence Ndlovu, who is also Tshuma’s uncle, confirmed the incident.

“My nephew tried to kill himself following a misunderstanding with his wife. His wife discovered that her husband was HIV positive and that he was among the list of people who were taking ARV drugs,” said Ndlovu.

Ndlovu said he took the dipping chemical to his homestead and he and other villagers counselled his nephew. He said he was later called back to the homestead around 2AM on Thursday after his nephew succeeded in taking contents of a bottle  containing a dipping chemical which he found in his bedroom hut.

“It appears that the wife was not happy with her husband for not coming out in the open. During the altercation she made threats to report him to the police because he had infected her with HIV. My nephew said he wanted to kill himself because he feared to be sent to prison for infecting his young wife,” said Ndlovu.

He said they administered first aid to his nephew to ensure that he vomited the dip chemical before taking him to Madlambuzi Clinic for treatment. Ncube said she had lived with her husband for about two months but he had not disclosed his HIV status.

She said upon discovering the hospital card, Tshuma confessed that he had been infected in the previous year.