Doctor dies by suicide in Machakos over 'unemployment'

The lifeless body of a 33-year-old Kenyan doctor was on Friday last week found hanging in his house in Kangundo, Machakos County, in what police suspect to be a suicide incident.

Dr. Fredrick Muoki Wambua’s body was discovered by a friend who went to check up on him in his house after he failed to respond to calls and messages for a couple of days.

Dr. Wambua, who only recently finished his internship at the Kangundo Level 4 Hospital, is said to have left behind a suicide note addressed to his sister.

A police source, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Citizen Digital that the deceased cited debts from friends and online mobile loan applications as well as unemployment among the reasons why he resolved to take his own life.

The exact cause of death is however still being probed, even as a tentative burial date has since been set for Friday, February 3, 2023.

Dr. Teryl Beth, a close friend of the deceased and who worked with him during their internship stint at the Kangundo Level 4 Hospital, describes him as a diligent and jovial person.

Dr. Beth noted that while she and the rest of their cohort moved out of Kangundo after their internship period lapsed, Dr. Wambua remained behind.

“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,” she narrates.

“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.”

The Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) has since mourned the deceased, saying his death represents what so many doctors in the country are going through due to unemployment.

“KMPDU is deeply saddened by the untimely and unfortunate demise of our young colleague, Dr. Muoki Fred Wambua who died by suicide on the 27/1/2023 in Kagundo, Machakos County after struggling for months to secure an employment opportunity,” KMPDU Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah said in a press address on Tuesday.

“In a suicide note to his sister, Dr. Muoki described his desperation not being able to find employment and the sorrow of watching his poor family struggle months after completing his internship at Kangundo level four hospital.”

He further added: “Daktari represents the hundreds of our bright brothers and sisters who after toiling for years training to be medics have found themselves either unemployed, under employed or working under precarious contracts that don’t offer them similar benefits as their older colleagues.”