Homicide among University students
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Facts surrounding Homicide?
The Directorate of Wellness and Rehabilitation Services wishes all the students well and they do the end of semester examinations. Please remember to prepare for every examination well, to attend for each examination punctually and avoid examination irregularities for your continued wellness.
Even during the examination period I would like us to reflect on one emerging and highly emotive issue. Homicide among university students.
University students both males and females have died and the killers are other students. Without giving names, the following are true narratives of students who have been killed by other students, majority of them in relationships gone badly or in alcohol and drug abuse situations.
· A young woman goes partying with friends and her lifeless body is collected by the roadside, her friends purported that she got drunk started fighting and the run out in the night.
· A young man goes drinking with friends after which he runs into a gang that snatches a phone and in the ensuing scuffle the student is killed. It turned out that the killers were also students turned thugs.
· A student visits his girlfriend in another university but finds another man in the room, after hours of drinking before the night is out the young man is dead
· A young woman aged 19 is lured by friends to attend a party and obliges after which her lifeless body is returned to the hostel
· A male student visits his girlfriend in another University strangles her to death and he is killed by a mob in turn.
· A 19 year old pregnant student kills her boyfriend due suspicion of infidelity
· A female university student confesses to killing her boyfriend due to suspected infidelity
Causes of homicide among students
Psychologists in Kenya have identified the following as the causes of homicide among university students
1. Students have been raised in ways that do not equip them with primary self-preservation skills due to lack of adjustment skills accompanied by diminished self-worth.
2. They lack environmental mastery and have poor social skills which impacts negatively on their ability to co-exist with others
3. Some students have become vulnerable to drugs, gambling, and pornography and sex addictions. To get money to support their habits they get involved in crime.
4. Some students have been exposed to violence in the family and they never developed healthy methods of solving life’s challenges. Some become clinically depressed.
5. Some students come from homes where they were not monitored, mentored or supervised and consequently developed non-conforming behavior patterns.
6. Associating with delinquent peers and/or gang membership is another factor leading alcohol and drug abuse as well as criminal activities.
7. Some students have lived lives of overindulgence and become self-centered and out rightly narcissistic.
How to avoid dangerous situations that can lead to homicide
· Avoid toxic friends and relationships. Know when to walk away and if experiencing challenges you are unable to tackle alone, seek help from a trusted adult like a parent, a lecturer, and your chaplain or seek counselling support.
· If your gut feeling tells you that your life in danger, engage in self-preservation behaviors before things get out of control. Report serious threats to your life to the police or seek mediation
· If you have issues with anger management and conflict resolution, enroll in activities and programs within the university that will help you overcome these. Seek counselling support in matters of self-understanding.
· Participate in programmes that promote your wellness as a student by joining clubs and seeking spiritual sustenance from your chaplaincy-In KU we have Catholic, Protestant, Seventh Day Adventist and Muslim chaplaincies.
· If you have alcohol and drug abuse problems seek help early before you become addicted and if addicted make sure that you are linked to care.
· Interventions through guidance and counseling provided by the University.
· Do not engage in multiple relationships at the same time and do not stalk your ex-boyfriends or girlfriends in social media platforms.
· Learn to live and let live, if a relationship is not working, learn to let go.
Reach out to the Directorate of Wellness and Rehabilitation Services BSSC Room 143 Monday to Friday 8.00hours to 16.00hours.
If you need help during the night please call the Wellness counselors through
0724736965, 0800211206, 0800211208, 0800211207, 0800211205 and 0800211203
Or the security number through 0725471487, 0786401124
