A treasurer of a Chama/table banking group in Machakos has committed suicide after coming under intense pressure to produce the group members’ Sh. 300,000 savings for the year.

The merry-go-round table banking group locally known as Malolondo is only for the women in the area and they help financially troubled households.

The woman who was treasurer died on Monday while undergoing treatment at a Machakos Hospital. She has ingested a lot of acaricides (poison).

“She was fighting for her life in the hospital after taking poison. But we have since lost her,” said the Kangundo Sub-County Police Commander

This has left her table banking group with mixed reactions, not knowing whether to mourn her or feel betrayed. It has been established that the woman was among the founder of this merry-go-round where she supposedly ate all the money.

According to her husband, Joseph Muya, the cycle of events leading to her death started last week on Tuesday, when the group reconciled their books of accounts. Group members suspected that the woman who was a farmer had embezzled the Sh. 300k.

“After the group reconciled its books on Tuesday, she had promised to avail the money on Wednesday,” said Mr. Muya.

READ: Confirmed: Boyfriend allegedly beaten by Maxine Wahome is dead

“However, she fled on Wednesday morning without indicating her destination. We remained in the dark, assuming she had gone to borrow money,” he added.

Her handbag was discovered three days later, on Sunday morning, next to their cowshed. Footprints led them to an abandoned house at the corner of the homestead where she lay unconscious, having drunk two bottles of acaricide.

Among those administering first aid to the woman was a doctor, who diagnosed that she’d taken too much poison to survive. Before any authentic health service could come to the rescue, the woman was already gone, with the Sh. 300,000 nowhere to be found.

Her body was transferred to Kangundo Sub-County Hospital for a postmortem. The group members are in disbelief and synonymously confused.

One of the Chama group members said that on Tuesday, some of the members wanted to take soft loans and also service existing loans.

The treasurer promised to avail the money, only for double tragedy to strike the Chama twice. The group remained quiet on their next course in leadership.

Her husband, Mr. Muya, says that there is no time to discuss Chama matters as of now. They are all working on planning for a funeral.

“We have no time for discussing the table banking group. We are working towards planning a funeral,” he asserted.