Young chief commits suicide

The man is said to have left for his farm near Rakhuna village where he parked his vehicle in a thicket and waited for an oncoming evening train.

A relative of the deceased, Sello Motseka, revealed in a telephone interview that the chief had tried to take his own life before. He said that early this year he drew up a programme for his funeral before attempting suicide, citing serious personal problems, which he did not disclose to anyone. "He was taken to a mental hospital and released, and we were of the impression that he was recovering. On Saturday he went to Pitsane to visit a friend whom he also left to go to the farm. But he hid in the bush near the railway line and when the train approached he jumped in front of it," said the relative.