BDP councilor in suicide attempt, blames witchcraft

In an unexpected turn of events, Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) Councillor, Kaone Boss Wakwena confessed before a fully-packed Kanye Kgotla that he once attempted to commit suicide.

Speaking at a Suicide Prevention Awareness Day, Bagami ward councilor, Wakwena willingly gave a suicide testimony that he attempted to end his life in January last year and blames it on witchcraft.

Wakwena revealed that he never had issues with anyone and never experienced any financial situation that could have forced him to commit suicide. He believes that his overwhelming feeling to take his own life was the work of Satan.

“I had this feeling inside me, that everything was coming to an end. I heard a loud voice commanding me to end my life,” he said.

He revealed that during that afternoon, obeying the loud voice he kept on hearing, he grabbed an electric cord to hang himself.

He tied it to the house rafters and fortunately the rope broke off before he could accomplish his goal.

He narrated that upon falling from the rafters, the voice he heard continued rhyming on his ears to finish what he had started.

He proceeded to the kitchen and took a knife, pointed it under his chin to cut his throat in the presence of his mother.

“Ke ne ka ithaba ka thipa ko tlase ga mometso,” he said, explaining that he cut his throat. When blood gushed out from his neck, he fainted.

Upon waking up, Wakwena said his body was soaked in a pool of his own blood and police officers were already summoned to the scene.

He was taken to the hospital and stitched on the throat.

His suicide plan failed and he now wants to persuade members of the public to seek help when going through tough phases in their lives.

The Suicide Prevention Awareness Day was organised by Kanye Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, after realising that suicide statistics continue to rise in Kanye.

SDA Hospital Chief Executive Officer Brandon Tombs said from September last year, the hospital had to admit people who attempted to end their lives weekly.

“We advised those in despair to never consider suicide as an option,” Tombs said.

Mmasetsibi Gaseitsewe, wife to Bangwaketse Paramount Chief Kgosi Malope II, said from 2021 to 2022, 48 youths attempted suicide and statistics have doubled this year with 79 youths attempting to commit suicide. Women are the majority.

A concerned Masetsibi revealed that people decide to commit suicide for different reasons such as relationship issues, debt, as well as substance and drug abuse, among others.

Suicide is a global burden as 18 000 people die from it annually with one person commiting suicide every four seconds.

Mmasetsibi also stated that 48 young women and 31 young men attempted suicide in 2023, surpassing the 2021/2022 statistics of 48 cases.