Boy, 12, commits suicide after a fight with elder brother over household chores

AFRICA: A 12-year-old boy has committed suicide by hanging himself in his bedroom in Dowa Malawi, after quarreling with his older brother over household chores on Christmas Day.

Dowa Police Spokesperson, Gladson M’bumpha said it was reported that the child and his 16-year-old brother woke up at 6 a.m. yesterday.

When the two started doing household chores, the child wanted to clean utensils, not sweep the area outside their house, something that his elder brother denied.

“This did not go well with the deceased who got angry to the extent that he entered in the house upon disagreement with his elder brother.

“A few minutes later, the deceased’s sister entered the house where she found the young brother hanging from the roof of the bedroom,” said M’bumpha.



The matter was reported to the police, who visited the scene accompanied by medical personnel from Dowa District Hospital.

A postmortem revealed that the boy had died of suffocation, with no foul play suspected.