Two recent deaths in Rwamburi village, Ndeiya, Kikuyu, have left residents shaken and searching for answers.
Within weeks, two middle-aged men drowned themselves in community dams, sparking urgent conversations about financial struggles and mental health.
The first incident involved Waititu Njenga, who had sold his land and received a large payout. According to village elders, he mismanaged the money and, after losing it all, took his life in a government-dug irrigation dam.
John Muthumbi, a former boda boda rider from Kwambira near Limuru Town, also sold his land and quickly exhausted the proceeds.
On the day of his death, he returned home intoxicated, removed his clothes in front of his sister, and walked into a dam despite her desperate pleas.
His body was later retrieved by Kiambu County Fire Department divers after being trapped in clay soil sediment.
These back-to-back tragedies have raised alarm among villagers. Elders fear that without financial literacy, more young men who sell land may fall into frustration, depression, and even suicide. Many of these men, after receiving lump sums, spend recklessly and are left with nothing to sustain themselves.
In response, the community has formed a committee to guide young men on responsible money management.