A 48-year-old man identified as Maxwell Mkwapata has committed suicide by hanging himself to the roof of a toilet at Mponda village in Balaka district.

According to Balaka Police Station Public Relations Officer, Gladson M’bumpha the incident occurred on Wednesday August 7, 2024 around 05:00 hours.

He said: “On the previous night of Tuesday, August 6, 2024 Mkwapata who used to drink beer went out for a drinking spree within the location but he did not return home.

“Then on Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at around 05:00 hours, Mkwapata’s nephew went outside the house to answer a call of nature at the toilet which is about 40 metres from Mkwapata’s house where he discovered that his uncle (the deceased) had hanged himself to the roof of the toilet using shoe-laces, he said.

M’bumpha said the matter was reported to Balaka Police Station where officers rushed to the scene and found the deceased hanging to the roof and a half full bottle of locally brewed wine by his side.

Postmortem conducted at Balaka District Hospital established that death was due to suffocation secondary to strangulation.

The deceased came from Saiwa village in Traditional Authority Kaduya in Phalombe district.