A famous businessman in Kabarondo trading centre in Kayonza District died Sunday in what authorities are treating as suspected suicide. The family of Joseph Munyanziza said they discovered his body hanging on a rope inside his bedroom on Monday (yesterday). According to the widow, Petronille Uwantege, the deceased was alone at home after the rest of the family members, including children, went to church. “My husband claimed he was not feeling alright, yet we were supposed to go to church together as usual. This was enough excuse to let him rest, so we left him alone in the house,” she said.Uwantege said when they returned from the church, only the main gate and the living room door were open. “All doors to other rooms were closed when we returned. His mobile cell was switched off and all we could do was sit in the living room for hours as we waited for his return,” says.InquiriesToward dusk, Uwantege says they got concerned that Munyanziza could leave the family locked out all Sunday afternoon and started making inquiries from his friends and relatives about where he possibly could have gone. No one had seen Munyanziza. Uwantege and the children spent the night in the living room. Unknown to them Munyanziza was dangling on a rope in the bedroom.“We waited until the wee hours of the night, then closed the two doors and slept on the floor in the living room. The following day (yesterday), I decided to break some of the doors to help the children and I change clothes but needed more manpower because it needed reasonable force to break.” “A neighbour came to help me. In the first room we found an empty tin of insecticide, the powder was scattered with a sign that it was mixed with water. We used the pesticide in our garden. When we broke the main room door, we found his body hanging,” Uwantege added.She said all has been going on well and the motive of the (suspected) suicide remains a mystery. The area executive secretary, Viateur Nzabangamba, confirmed the incident but said suicide was rare in the village. “We inquired from his friends, neighbours and relatives and found he was sane and never had any issues with people. It is not common to see people committing suicide in our villages,” Nzabangamba said. Police said they are still investigating the incident.
