The body of Dr Lydia Wahura Kanyoro was found inside her car moments after she had committed suicide in a move that has prompted calls to address mental pressure among student medical practitioners.
The family and friends of a 35-year-old, paediatrician at Kenyatta National Hospital is puzzled by what drove her to commit suicide in her car. Dr Wahura was pursuing her Masters in medicine at the University of Nairobi College of Health Sciences within KNH.
She is said to have left an ongoing MA class at the University of Nairobi that is within the hospital earlier before committing suicide.
Witnesses said they saw her on June 12 checking to the lecture hall at around 9 am and registered for her classes. A few minutes later, Dr Wahura was seen leaving the lecture hall under unclear circumstances as she headed to her car and at around 9:30 am.
Evidence of what she used to commit suicide found at the scene were, two bottles of anaesthesia drugs labelled ketamine and midazolam, alongside a syringe. Ketamine is primarily used as a starter pack for and maintaining anaesthesia. The body was found lying in the back seat of the car.
In her car, she left behind a printed suicide note, which is being analysed by detectives. Police say the note talks about her life. A postmortem on her body was planned for today Tuesday to establish the cause of her death.
Detectives attached at the Kilimani Division and her fellow medical practitioners are probing the matter, keen to establish what drove the deceased to allegedly end her life. Also recovered by police at the scene of crime besides the deceased’s body was an alleged suicide note. Police said she had called some of her relatives to tell them where she was and what she had planned to do, before committing suicide. The note was printed from an email dated June 12 at 9 am that detailed why she decided to commit suicide.
The head of security at the School of Medicine, George Onyango, said he spotted the body at the back seat of her salon car within the hospital’s parking lot on Saturday at 1 pm.
Like it took murder of George Floyd and many more innocent black lives lost to gain moment and rise against racism in the US and stage world greatest months of protest against racism not only in US but in the world. In Medical field, it is poor working conditions that’s the racism and the abuse is depression and the murder is suicide.
I wonder how many innocent lives of likes of Dr. Lydia it will take for the Kenya’s Jubilee Government, the county governments or any other Government worldwide who provide poor working conditions to healthcare providers who in return end up in depression and commit suicide.
These frontline workers sacrifice their lives to save lives but in return get deplorable benefits. We all know, and if you don’t know then you ought to know- there’s nothing for nothing, there’s only something for something and in most accasions, healthcare providers are getting almost nothing for more somethings they deliver in frontline.
At the beginning of Covid19 pandemic I thought it would be a wake up call for Governments to prioritize frontline healthcare providers by good working conditions and good motivation by salary and wages increase but it turned out to be an opportunity for Covidpreneurs to loot donated aids and grants and loans offered by world banks and developed international communities.
I think it’s time folks!
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