The play Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare about two young people whose love led to their death on the aisle of feuding families.
This drama - albeit partially - was replayed in Tana River county at the weekend. In a cruel twist of fate, a bridegroom, who was looking forward to a life of bliss with his heart throb, committed suicide after learning he was HIV positive.
The 28-year-old ‘Romeo’ from Kalkacha village on the outskirts of Hola town fled from home last Friday, the day of his wedding, and two days later, his lifeless body was found dangling from a tree branch.
Relatives told journalists that the young man had been forced by his prospective parents in-law to undergo HIV test as a pre-requisite to consent their marriage preparation.
They blamed a local medical institution for the death, claiming that personnel at the facility did not handle the medical results professionally.
The young man, on learning his HIV status had been leaked, disappeared from home on the day of the wedding, forcing relatives to stop the ceremony to launch a manhunt for him.
And on Sunday afternoon, the bridegroom’s body was found dangling from the branch of a tree inside a thicket off the Hola-Wayu road, where he was last seen on a boda boda. Tana River police boss Sylvester Githungo confirmed the incident and said investigations had been launched.
“You gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong Juliet?” said Romeo in the drama. This words might be echoing aloud in the Hola town. Meanwhile, a 14-year-old girl is fighting for her life at the Hola Hospital after a crocodile in River Tana attacked her.
Good Samaritans rushed Amina Swaleh to hospital after she was attacked by the reptile while fetching water. Githungo warned parents against allowing their children to fetch water in the crocodile-infested river the river without the presence of adults.
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