Namutumba: A Mother of Three Hangs Self Over Failure To Repay SACCO Loan

By Batte Musa._

A mother of three has committed suicide after allegedly failing to repay a loan of one hundred fifty thousand (150,000/=) Uganda shillings she took from a village SACCO (Savings Cooperative) as well as an additional sixty thousand (60,000/=) Uganda shillings in interest, accumulating to two hundred ten thousand (210,000/=) Uganda shillings.

The body of Safina Mbabazi, a resident of Kizuba Village, Kizuba Sub County, Namutumba District, who reportedly owed Kizuba Women Saving Group a total of UShs 210,000, was found hanging in her rented room on the morning of Thursday 10th, November 2022.

Mr Musa Kama, the Kizuba LC I General Secretary, said reports suggest that the deceased took her life after failling to repay the loan.

“Last week, the saving group notified me of her debt and requested me to intervene. So, I was planning to engage my boss (LC I Chairperson) so that we can talk to her, but unfortunately, she has ended her life,” Mr Kama said.

Multiple accounts suggest that for the past ten years, she has been renting a room at Kizuba Trading Centre, living with her three children whom she fended for by selling tomatoes.

Ms Juliet Nabbosa, a sister to the deceased, said that in June this year, she (Safina) borrowed UShs 150,000 from the savings group to invest in her tomato business, but the debt has since accumulated to UShs 210,000.

“On friday last week, I received a call from the deceased (the late sister), saying she had failed to repay the loan yet she had only been given this month (November) to clear. I promised to support her with UShs 100,000 but recieved news on Thursday about her death,” Ms Nabbosa added.

“As Police, we are investigating. The rest will follow after we have established the cause of her death,” Ms Diana Nandaula, the Busoga East Regional Police Spokesperson, said.

By press time, Police had taken the body to Nsinze Health Centre IV in Namutumba District for an autopsy.