The woman was found hanging dead inside her house
Greif engulfed residents of Tegwana Cell, Laroo-Pece Division in Gulu City, after a 52-year-old businesswoman was found hanging dead inside her house, in a suspected suicide.
The deceased has been identified as Claire Nambooze, a local businesswoman who deals in general merchandise in Gulu City.
The victim was found dangling from a rope inside the house on Sunday evening, after her neighbours became suspicious of her unusual absence.
According to police, Nambooze was under pressure to pay back the loans she had taken.
A case of suicide by hanging has been reported to the police at Gulu City CPS vide DEF 005/2026, by her husband, one Christopher Oola, a self-employed carpenter.
ASP David Ongom Mudong, the Aswa West Region Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the report in a brief statement, noting that the deceased is believed to have picked up Shs 6 million from microfinance institutions.
ASP Mudong said before she was found dead, the woman had left her business premises and told a fellow businesswoman to watch over their business as she went home for unclear reasons.
“It was stated that on Sunday morning, the deceased, as usual in the morning, went to her business premises. But at about 11 am, she told her neighbour to sell her stock until 4 pm, when they discovered that she had hanged herself,” Mudong said.
He adds that their investigators who spoke to her relatives state she could have taken her own life after coming under pressure from money lenders.
“Close relatives stated that the deceased had multiple loans with four different microfinance institutions, amounting to Shs6 million. And she was under pressure to pay (it back). That might be the reason why she took her life,” he adds.
Her body has been conveyed to Gulu Regional Referral Hospital mortuary pending post-mortem.
The latest incident brings the total number of cases of suicide recorded since the beginning of the year.
Nearly all the cases were attributed to domestic violence and terminal illness.
In November, Mr. George Aligech Lapir, the Secretary of the Gulu Business Association, told journalists that a number of businesspeople in Gulu City are struggling with high-interest-rate loans, rents, and depression.
Mr. Aligech noted that the extortionate rent and taxes have taken a toll on the mental health of traders in the city.
He called on the government regulate loans and rents so that traders can breathe.
Source:
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