32-year-old Mercy Wachiga Maina./HANDOUT
A 32-year-old woman whose decomposed body was found in her Valley Arcade apartment had left behind a suicide note detailing her final wishes, police and her family said.
Mercy Wachiga Maina was found dead at Forhome Apartment in Lavington, Nairobi, on Thursday, September 3, several weeks after she was last seen.
Police said Maina had not been seen since August 12. Her body was discovered on a bed on the 10th floor of the apartment after neighbours complained of a strong smell coming from her house.
The door was locked from inside when police arrived. Officers forced it open and found Maina’s decomposed body inside.
A jiko containing burnt charcoal was also found in the room. Scenes of Crime personnel processed the scene before the body was moved to the City Mortuary.
Police said Maina is believed to have died by suicide, with authorities authenticating a note she left behind.
In the note, Maina urged people to stop judging others and instead love one another.
“Stop judging people,” she wrote.
She also asked her mother to forgive her and expressed her wish to be cremated or laid to rest in a river, saying she loved rivers.
Maina further asked that her belongings be handed over to her mother. She also appreciated her landlord for not evicting her when she was unable to pay rent.
“I have been up since 4am, mostly trying to figure out how to go about this,” she wrote in the note.
She also acknowledged that people might view her decision negatively.
“Anyway, I know people say this is a coward’s way out. So yeah, I might be the biggest coward ever,” she wrote.
The motive behind her death remains unclear, according to police and her family.
Maina had also left her cat inside the apartment.
The incident has renewed attention on suicide cases in the country and concerns over carbon monoxide poisoning associated with the use of charcoal-burning jikos in poorly ventilated spaces.
Officials warn against using jikos in poorly ventilated areas because burning charcoal can produce carbon monoxide, an odourless and potentially deadly gas that interferes with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen.
