Police in Lakes confirmed the death of a community radio station gatekeeper who took his life in Rumbek town on Monday, 7 October.

Lakes state police Spokesman Major Elijah Mabor Makuac said the deceased identified as John Mayom Madok was found hanging in a rope from the roof of his room within the Rumbek Catholic Diocese premises.

“Investigations carried by police found that the man took his life.”

The motives behind this man ending his life are unclear.

However, the police official said the police are monitoring if there are related stories to the incident.

“If there is a related story later on, we will let the public know,” he added.

When contacted Rumbek Medical Director Dr. Terran Madit Terran said postmortem results showed there were no indications of physical assaults on him, signaling he might have taken his life.

“Following the examination of the body of the deceased, the details found no bruises or sign of physical assault apart from the rope that’s around the neck,” he said.

Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 29 years globally.

According to WHO data, as of 2019 South Sudan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, occupying 13th position out of 172 countries surveyed globally, and 4th in Africa.

In South Sudan, suicide exceedingly affects internally displaced persons (IDPs) residing in the protection of civilians (PoCs) sites due to factors inherent to confinement, limited possibilities for income generation, idleness, substance abuse, criminality, armed conflict, and gender-based violence.