By KANERE News Desk
An Eritrean asylum seeker was found hanging dead from a tree in an apparent suicide at Kakuma, camp 3 section.
Following a tip from a refugee block leader in Zone 2 of Kakuma 3, a KANERE reporter had made it the scene before the police and ambulance arrived and later witnessed the body being carried away. The asylum seeker was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to fellow countrymen, the deceased was a new arrival at the camp and was under mandatory quarantine in the Kakuma reception center.
According to Eritrean nationals, the deceased left the center late Saturday night, 22 August 2020, and his body was discovered on Monday, 24 August 2020. They believe that the body was hanging on the tree for more than 36 hours.
The deceased arrived in Kakuma on 18 August 2020 and quarantined for a few days at the reception center. “I travelled to Kakuma 3’s reception center to deliver some juice and food to him. However, he was nowhere to be found,” Titi, Eritrean and mother of 4, told KANERE.
UNHCR Kakuma issued a statement to express condolences and stated that “he was being closely followed by our medical partners, including a psychiatric nurse, as he was withdrawn, appeared disoriented and had refused to eat.”
“Just two days before his death, the UNHCR protection team approached him for assistance however, the deceased remained silent. The effort to support the asylum seeker remained futile until his last minutes, “an Eritrean community interpreter said.
The incident was recorded by Kakuma Police officers on the morning of 24 August 2020, and the Kenyan police will continue to investigate the incident.
Earlier this year, an Ethiopian asylum seeker committed suicide at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kakuma one.
While observing the World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2020, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi said, “The need to support mental health assistance for displaced populations was critical before the pandemic but now we are dealing with an emergency and a picture of widespread despair.”