A Walvis Bay teenager allegedly committed suicide on Monday evening after leaving a note saying she has been living with a burden for four years.
According to the family of 15-year-old Frieda Dhiginina Mapowe, she seemed to be in good spirits and going about her daily chores that day.
However, 20 minutes later, Frieda’s elder brother, Daniel Mapowe, forced open the bathroom door to find her hanging from the roof with a scarf around her neck.
Erongo police crime investigations coordinator Erastus Iikuyu confirmed the incident, saying the police are investigating and have a suicide note Frieda allegedly wrote.
The suicide note was found on her bed, among her school books. According to Mapowe, his sister wrote, “something like a prayer” in which she thanked God for her life, her brothers and sisters, parents and teachers.
“But she also told God about something she was carrying inside her heart for four years. She told God that He said that if someone asks, they will receive, but wondered why God was not responding on this issue,” Mapowe told The Namibian yesterday in a telephonic interview.
The family is grappling with their sudden loss and unanswered questions. She was the lastborn of 12 children.
“We have no idea what she was struggling with for so long. Four years is a long time for a child to carry a burden. Until she died, we never have suspected anything amiss. We could see nothing. She was always just happy,” said Mapowe.
He told this newspaper that the last time he saw his sister alive was when he returned from work between 18h00 and 19h00 that evening. Frieda lived with Mapowe and his wife, who is a teacher at Duinesig Combined School, where Frieda was a Grade 8 pupil.
Frieda had been living with the couple for about eight years, along with their 10-year-old niece. Her parents are in the north.
Frieda had gone to school that day and returned home to start her household chores.
“I came home from work and she was washing dishes and eating something. As we taught her good manners, she stopped and greeted me, before continuing her chores. Everything seemed fine,” said Mapowe.
He went to his bedroom to drop off his work stuff and then returned to the living room where he assisted his little niece with homework.
His wife later came home and after a while, the couple instructed their niece to take a bath.
“She [niece] said Frieda was in the bathroom, so she could not go in. The door was locked. My wife went and knocked a few times but there was no response, so I got up to check. I knocked, but nothing. I looked through the key-hole and saw her arm and handshaking unnaturally.
“I ran to the garage to get a crowbar and hammer and forced the door open. She was hanging there. I grabbed her to try and alleviate the pressure from the scarf around her neck, but then her tongue protruded, and I knew it was too late,” Mapowe recalled. “It all happened so quickly and so suddenly.”
Mapowe said he ran to the neighbour to call the police. They declared Frieda dead.
According to Mapowe, Frieda was always happy, singing and dancing. Although she did not have many friends, she had a few good ones. She was also a leader at the Sunday school, and enjoyed reading the Bible, watching cartoons and soap operas.
“She did not show any signs of unhappiness – even on the day when she took her life,” he said.
Duinesig school principal Stanley Uri-Khob said the school received the news with shock on Tuesday.
A council support group at the school was immediately mobilised to explain to Frieda’s classmates what had happened. The news was announced at a school assembly.
“It was very solemn. There was silence as everyone was stunned,” Uri-Khob told The Namibian, adding that counselling will continue, while a memorial table (her school desk) with candles and a photo of Frieda was set up.
“She was a cheerful girl. That’s how we remember her. She always greeted and smiled, and was often referred to as ‘that friendly girl’,” he said.
Mapowe said the memorial service for Frieda will be held at Oshikweyo Village near Ondangwa on Friday where her parents live. The funeral will be held at 10h00 at the Ukwiyu Uushona parish.
This is the second reported suicide at the coast this month. On 6 March, Abraham Uuwanga (47) hanged himself at his home at Kuisebmond. He leaves his wife and two children behind.