Debt Burden Drives Malole Teacher to Su!c!de
The community of Malole in Mungwi District has been left in shock following the tragic death of a young teacher who allegedly took her own life after being overwhelmed by debt.
Memory Musonda, a 28-year-old teacher at St John’s Secondary School, is said to have consumed rat poison mixed with an overdose of salbutamol tablets on Tuesday morning. Despite efforts by her husband, neighbours, and colleagues to rush her to Malole Health Facility, she was pronounced dead on arrival.
Northern Province Police Commanding Officer, Lucky Munkondya, confirmed the incident, disclosing that the tragedy unfolded on 9th September around 08:00 hours in Mutamba village, Malole area.
According to police, Ms. Musonda had been battling financial stress for months, having accumulated debts from various lending institutions and informal moneylenders, commonly known as shylocks. Investigations suggest that part of her borrowed money had been lost in betting activities, worsening her already fragile financial situation.
Her husband, Joseph Chilufya, told police that on the fateful morning, while he was working at the family’s farm, he received a distressing text message from his wife urging him to return home immediately. By the time he rushed back, he found her vomiting after ingesting the poisonous substances.
“She had complained recently that one of the lending institutions had deducted a huge chunk of her salary, leaving her with only K640 net pay. It weighed heavily on her,” Ms. Munkondya said.
The young teacher’s untimely death has stirred conversations in the community about the growing debt crisis among civil servants, the impact of gambling, and the silent battles many are fighting behind closed doors.
“She was a hardworking teacher and loved by her pupils. None of us expected that she was carrying such a heavy burden,” said one of her colleagues, who helped rush her to the hospital.
A Brought-in-Dead (BID) form was issued, and her body has since been taken to Kasama General Hospital mortuary, awaiting postmortem.
As Malole mourns, Ms. Musonda’s story echoes the urgent need for financial literacy, debt management support, and mental health awareness to help prevent similar tragedies.
©️ KUMWESU | September 10, 2025
Most unfortunate. It is important to live within one’s own means. Few people are able to cope with peer pressure which is a constant presence in our lives. Gambling and drinking simply make matters worse. The flourishing of gambling houses and online gambling (Aviator) has not helped matters.
1Timothy 6:6 says, “godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into this world and can take nothing out of it”. The key is to be satisfied with what you have even as you strive to improve your lot.
This problem of suicide cases among civil servants is worsening by the day. There’s need to look at it and not cast a blind eye on it. People are highly indebted otherwise it’s not things
I think the Tragedy here is the urge among today’s youth to get rich quickly so that they can live the lives they admire people living on social media or keep up appearance due to a fake life they have curved for themselves to deceive many who look up to them. Life is not a race for many with just one prize guaranteed for the winner, you run the race of your own life at your own pace and as resources permit. Financial prudence calls for one to live within their means.
It is important that the employers or those in human resources department start talking to their employees on matters of money and basic management even when their employees are educated.It is extremely important to have peptalks at work.The police, teachers, unions, the hospital workers and nearly all including the civil servants need to be having peptalks regularly.The days of today have very interesting things and food.It is important to understand that one may not be able to afford all.We must begin to appreciate the little we have but hard working may help to sustain our livelihood.Make a small garden behind your house if you can and it will help.Look for a reasonable land somewhere and produce some food for your family and you may sell surplus food to your neighbors and other people life goes on.Dont borrow beyond your capacity or else you may have sleep less nights.Employers must discourage their employees from over borrowing.