Betting addiction, marital wrangles, economic hardship, heavy debts and social isolation are among the pressures driving some people, especially men in Malawi to commit suicide. National Police statistics reveal that between January 2022 and September 2025, men accounted for an average of 87 percent of the 2,014 recorded suicides. Against this grim backdrop, a new form of support is emerging: men are turning to social media to bridge the gap left by scarce mental health resources, offering one another heart-to-heart counsel online. KONDWANI KAMIYALA writes:
A viral social media post once told of a man who staked K100 and walked away with K88 million. For 36-year-old ChikondiUseni, a police officer in Mangochi, such stories were irresistible.
Doubling as a car dealer, Useni’s business collapsed under the weight of foreign exchange shortages, inflation, currency depreciation, Covid-19 aftershocks and energy crises. With demand for saloon cars dwindling, he turned to betting to plug the gap.
What began as a pastime spiralled into addiction. Losses mounted, debts ran into millions, and depression took hold. He attempted suicide five times.
“Much as I was winning in some games, I was losing in most. The losses ate into my business, leaving me stressed and suicidal,” he recalls.
His salvation came through the intervention of a close friend, Elias Matope, who persuaded him to abandon his plans to shoot himself in April 2025. “We talked, he listened, and now he is back on his feet,” Matope says.
A national crisis
The statistics are stark. In 2022, 408 suicide deaths were recorded. In 2023, 479 of 527 victims were men whil;e the following year 522 of 597 suicides were male. Between January and September last year, 390 of 482 victims were men.
The toll is visible in tragic cases such as that of 31-year-old police officer Eric Chasweka, found hanging in his Dedza home last June, leaving farewell notes to his parents, supervisor and lover.
Useni, however, refused to become another statistic of an officer taking their own life.
Drawing on his own ordeal, he founded Depression Survivors Malawi, a counselling initiative run largely through Facebook.
“Last month alone, I assisted 30 people, mostly civil servants struggling with debt and women facing relationship issues,” he says.
Together with two professional counsellors, he provides daily phone support and, where necessary, travels to meet those at risk.
“We wish we had a toll-free number since we now use our own meager resources to call and visit those in need,” he says.
One of the thematic areas under the Shifting the Power (StP) programme by the Tilitonse Foundation with support from Comic Relief and the Foreign, Development and Commonwealth Office is mental health. Under the Civil Society Strengthening Fund (CSSF) Tilitonse builds civil society organisations across the country.
Nsanje-based Tiphedzane Community Support Organisation (Ticoso) is one of the 32 organisations benefiting from the capacity building and executive director Mike Dansa says mental health among men is crucial.
“This is a big problem in the Lower Shire. We see men committing suicide due to problems they can solve if they talked to someone. Men have to use all means, virtual or physical, to solve marital problems and economic hardships they face,” he observed.
According to him, some men fear to report abuses they face or debts they are locked in to the police victim support unit (VSU) because they are ignorant of the assistance they can get.
Soche police VSU coordinator Hermes Nthenyera agrees, adding that more men are committing suicide because they don’t talk it out with others or report to the police.
“Men suffer in silence and most feel that VSUs are there to assist only women. Not at all. Our doors are open for everyone and we have male officers who are handling problems men face which may lead to suicide,” he said.
Understanding suicide
For Clemence Paul, a nurse and social worker at Mulanje Mission Hospital, suicide has three stages: Ideation, attempt and completion. “Suicide comes when those around fail to heed signs of emotional distress. Many dismiss such distress as weakness, but men must check their emotions the same way they do with their phone messages oil their cars,” he argues.
Paul runs the You Matter Project, counselling secondary and tertiary students via Facebook. His own struggles illustrate the pressures men face.
Supporting eight siblings while studying for a social work degree at the Catholic University of Malawi (Cunima) between 2023 and 2025, he borrowed K2 million from a commercial bank to fund a restaurant business and maize farm.
Cyclone Freddy destroyed his crop in 2023 where he expected to harvest 80 bags of maize, while power outages crippled his restaurant. He closed shop, endured hunger, and once walked for nine hours to cover the 75 kilometres from the university in Chisombezi, Chiradzulu to Mulanje due to lack of transport.
“Economic hardships strained me emotionally, but I managed before suicidal ideation,” he says.
On Martyrs’ Day this year, Paul launched a peer support group at the University of Malawi in Zomba to avert suicide among students.
“Students are committing suicide at alarming rates. Without a mentally-sound generation, how can we achieve the Malawi 2063 goals?” he wonders.
Even WhatsApp groups work
Village head John Kwaja of Blantyre’s T/A Kapeni knows the scourge of suicide well. Running a tree nursery business, he was accused by a local prophet of witchcraft, allegedly killing his subjects to boost sales.
Enraged, Kwaja destroyed the prophet’s podium and sound system, then contemplated ingesting pesticides knowing police would be on him.
“I thought of my wife, children and subjects, and surrendered to police instead. They arrested the prophet for calling me a wizard. Had I committed suicide, much would have been lost,” he reflects.
Today, Kwaja shares encouragement through a WhatsApp group run by Lunzu-based United Pentecostal Church pastor Vincent Chigwenembe. Members exchange tips on stress management and business growth.
“Stress eats men alive, but talking helps us grow spiritually,” he says.
Virtual support, real needs
Across Malawi, men are harnessing Facebook and WhatsApp to confront mental health challenges. Initiatives such as AbamboTibeKhonde, led by Jefferson Milanzie, provide online forums for men to share experiences.
“I had suicidal thoughts, which I conquered. If meetings are increased, suicide among men will reduce,” Milanzie insists.
Yet, while virtual platforms are proving vital, counsellors stress the need for physical interaction. Online support can reach many, but face-to-face engagement remains crucial in preventing suicide.
Tilitonse Foundation executive director Robert White said it was pleasing that individuals and organisations are using local resources to combat social ills like mental health.
“It is pleasing that there is this paradigm shift, instead of waiting for foreigners to provide us solutions. When Cyclone Freddy happened, you remember Stanley Onjezani Kenani had a Facebook appeal for donations which went all the way to assist victims. The Landrover Club also had its way of raising funds to deliver relief items to unreachable areas. That is the way to go,” said White.
