Man commits suicide in protest against parents’ pressure to get married

LAMWO. A 26-year-old man has killed himself in attempt to ‘escape’ from his parents’ demands to get married, police have said. 
Authorities say Joel Komakech, a resident of Bigoya village in Anaka Parish, Palabek Gem Sub-county reportedly took his own life by hanging on Monday evening.

According to police reports, Komakech on the fateful day first picked a quarrel with his parents protesting their plans for him to get married. 
The Aswa river region police spokesperson, Mr Jimmy Patrick Okema told Daily Monitor on Tuesday that Komakech had for long complained to his parents and relatives that he wasn't yet ready for marriage. 
Mr Okema said police gathered statements indicating that he took his own life after failing to convince his parents to side with him.
"We got reports that his parents wanted him (deceased) to marry a woman because he was already mature. There were several meetings instituted at home in which the deceased was accused of delaying to marry but he protested that he wasn't ready. He however, couldn't take the pressure anymore and on Monday evening, he hanged himself on a tree branch using a rope," Mr Okema said.

Mr Okema said police retrieved the body for autopsy before handing it over to his family members for burial arrangements. 
"We never expected Komakech to take his own life because of pressure to get married. We have however, started investigating to find out if there could have been other motives behind his death," Mr Okema said. 
The LCIII Chairperson Palabek Gem Sub-county Mr Andrew Olal said he had received Komakech’s death reports but noted that he was yet to get full details of what drove the deceased to take end his life.
“It’s tragic! I’m yet to get full details of the incident from police and the family members,” Mr Olal told this reporter in a telephone interview Tuesday.

Suicide cases in Northern Uganda are common, and studies have revealed that 68 percent of the cases registered in the region are committed under the influence of Alcohol. That’s not to say Komakech was under the influence of any substance when he reportedly took his own life.

This comes just weeks after a 32-year-old Ugandan woman married herself so as to cool the pressure from parents who were demanding her to get a man and settle down.
Ms Jemimah Lulu, a university student at Oxford in the UK, organized a surprise party on August 27, 2018 at Quepasa Bar in Kampala, where she invited her close friends to witness her ‘wedding.