Fourth Zimbabwe student commits suicide in a week

A fourth student killed himself this week in Zimbabwe, it was reported Wednesday.

Simba Makumbe, 18, was found hanging from a tree by his father in Magwegwe North, Bulawayo, on Tuesday, the official Chronicle newspaper reported.

He was due to get the results from his Ordinary Level school-leavers' exams soon. His father said the teen had been "in a jovial mood".

Makumbe's suicide is the fourth reported in Zimbabwe in the past week.

The other three young men were university students.

A student from the Midlands State University, near the central city of Gweru, killed himself by drinking poison outside the institution's administration block, according to local press reports on Tuesday. He was reportedly angered over the institution's failure to fully pay him for some chickens he had sold them to raise the money for his fees.

Kranos Nyangari, 21, from the main University of Zimbabwe, killed himself on Friday after recording a video with messages to his friends and giving details of how he wanted his electronic goods distributed. His father blamed the "Satanic" influence of hip-hop music.

A third-year student from the National University of Science and Technology was found dead last Thursday, also from suspected suicide. He had asked his lecturers to give him cyanide earlier in the day.