Suicide is a serious worldwide health problem, particularly
among youths. It is defined as the intentional act of killing oneself.
Analytically, the suicidal act entails: the wish to kill, the wish to be killed
and the wish to die. People who die by suicide know what they are doing and are
aware of the consequences of their actions. A completed suicidal act is a
complex phenomenon associated with psychological, biological and social
factors. Depression in Africans is not readily recognized, as it tends to present
with somatization, rather than feelings of guilt and self-reproach, unlike in
Western cultures. In many traditional African cultures people fear death by
suicide and it is one of the strongest taboos. In order to categorize a case as
a suicide, legal authorities demand unequivocal evidence of intent. With all underlying
facts, this paper suggests measures that can be taken.
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