Suicide

Suicide in Africa has an indigenous aspect, a modern aspect, and a large grey area where the two blend that has yet to be thoroughly studied. The relatively few modern studies include such small populations that any general statement would be inadequate, except that suicide exists in modern Africa, and most of the cases documented are linked to depression, drug or alcohol abuse, pesticide poisoning, physical illness, or mental illness. However, in the traditional context, suicides were seen as the result not of personal troubles but of a conflict between one or more members of the community. For example, a person who kills himself would do so with the understanding that, as a ghost, he could inflict evil and harm on his enemies more effectively. ...