A Young Man Who Self-Immolated Saying "The Presidential Election Victory Was Stolen"

After Graduating from Mechanical Engineering, Unable to Find a Job and Despairing
Died After Being Transported to Hospital with 80% Full-Body Burns

A 28-year-old Kenyan youth, Robert Gituhu, shocked the nation by ending his life through self-immolation after despairing over financial hardship and unemployment.

According to the local daily The Standard on the 19th (local time), Gituhu set himself on fire on the afternoon of the 17th at a busy intersection in the port city of Mombasa, located 490 km from the capital Nairobi.

An article from the local daily newspaper The Standard dated the 19th, featuring the story of Robert Gituhu (28), who took his own life in despair over financial difficulties in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Gituhu climbed onto a statue at the intersection, holding the Kenyan flag, and shouted, "If corn prices don't go down, it's better to die. Odinga's presidential victory was stolen," before setting himself on fire. Passersby nearby rescued Gituhu, but he suffered burns over 80% of his body and died a few hours after being transported to the hospital.

Gituhu majored in mechanical engineering at Eldoret University in the west but became frustrated after failing to find a job following graduation.

Kenya's presidential election held in August last year resulted in the victory of President William Ruto. Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who lost by the narrowest margin in history of 230,000 votes (1.64%), claimed his votes were stolen and filed a petition with the Supreme Court, but it was rejected.

Since then, Odinga has continued anti-government protests since March, demanding a re-investigation of the election results and protesting against the high cost of living.

In Kenya, protests against rising prices in recent months have resulted in dozens of casualties. According to the Kenyan government and hospitals, 20 protesters have died from March this year until the 19th of last month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.