Man hangs himself after quarrel with wife

Thirty-year-old Lalata Zakeyu hanged himself in Malawi’s central district of Dowa after picking a quarrel with his wife, police have confirmed.

Dowa Police spokesperson Richard Kaponda said on Tuesday that the incident happened on Saturday.

“The deceased quarrelled with his wife over a loan of K6 000 (about $15) which he took from his friend to buy maize. The wife was surprised that her husband was borrowing money when they saved that same amount for the maize,” said Kaponda.

He said things went bad when the friend came over for his money.

The wife accused her husband of squandering their money on beer.

“She went back to her parents’ home, a few kilometres from their house and refused to meet him when he followed her there,” said Kaponda.

He added: “The husband then went back to his grass-thatched house and hanged himself with a rope in the evening that very same day.”

Kaponda said it was the wife who discovered Zakeyu dangling on the rope in the house.

Zakeyu came from Misi Village in Traditional Authority Msakambewa in Dowa.

Other recent incidents include Maxson Ngulube, 66, who killed himself in Mzimba after a quarrel with his wife and a 19-year-old Nkhotakota man who hanged himself after misusing money meant for food.