33 year old Kenyan doctor suspected to have taken his own life and leaves suicide note addressed to his sister.
On Friday 27th January, the body of one Dr Fredrick Muoki Wambua was reportedly found hanging in his house in Kangundo, Machakos County. This was after he failed to return calls or reply to messages and a friend of his decided to go check on him.
Even though the exact cause of death for young Fredrick is yet to be confirmed, the conversation of mental health proves to be a lifeline yet again.
“He called me the other weekend just to check up on me, he told me he was struggling to get by, which is actually the same situation for most of us because we’re all unemployed. He asked me if I had gotten a job in Homa Bay and I told him that I hadn’t, then he asked me to let him know if I hear about any job opportunity,” says Dr Teryl beth, a colleague of the deceased.
Dr Beth, an intern at the Kangundo Level 4 Hospital describes her colleague as a happy soul and an efficient role player in the workplace.
“Daktari was a very jovial guy, ever smiling with a beautiful soul. He was a great doctor, if you worked the same rotation with him, he would diligently do his part without frustrating you.” describes Beth.
Recent studies reveal that medical students are more susceptible to developing psychological distress and mental health disorders relative to other undergraduate students.
In this study, 1 out of every 5 medical students is mentally frustrated, 57.4% of medical students are stressed and 54.5% of the students in med school are simply burnt out.
In a suicide note to his sister, young Fredrick describes his desperation with not being able to find employment. He included the sorrow of watching his family struggle in poverty for months after completing his internship at Kangundo level 4 Hospital.
Evidently, the unemployment rate in Kenya is heavily influencing our citizens both financially and psychologically. Statistics show the Kenyan unemployment rate was 5.74% in 2021 from 5.73% in 2020. Furthermore, the unemployment Rate is projected to rise higher to around 7% by the beginning of 2023.
As devastating as the situation may seem for the generations to come, we as a nation should strive towards normalising the Mental Health Awareness conversation down to the grassroots level.
The burial date for Dr Fredrick Muoki Wambua has since been set for Friday, February 3, 2023.
J.K Raminya
