A glamorous 28-year-old businesswoman killed herself because she
struggled to cope with living alone in Britain with her family dispersed
across the world, an inquest heard yesterday.
Sales manager Sharon Bukokhe, of Levenshulme, Manchester, was a high
achiever working for a family planning charity but felt lonely because
relatives including her husband lived abroad.
Mrs Bukokhe, who was originally from Kenya, used her laptop to research
ways to commit suicide, applied full make up and painted her nails then
suffocated herself at her flat in April.
A diary found after her death said:
‘I think that any life is as valid as the next, such that an ending of
25 is as good as 88. I have no real regrets or fears any more, I just
feel decisive and justified.’
Mrs Bukokhe, who appeared to friends to be ‘the happiest person in the
world’, settled in the UK in 2002 and graduated in design and
engineering at Nottingham Trent University, the inquest heard. She was
later appointed sales manager of a charity helping with family planning
issues involving third world countries. But Mrs Bukokhe was deeply
affected by her family living in other countries.
Her husband lived in South Africa so he could complete a Master’s Degree
whilst her mother lived in Richmond, Virginia, in the US, and her
sister lived in Canada.
Her only relative in Britain was her brother who lived 250 miles away in
Gillingham, Kent and as a result of her feelings of loneliness she was
diagnosed with bipolar disorder.Mrs Bukokhe’s sister Caroline Lusiche, who flew in from Canada to be at
the inquest in Manchester said: ‘There were many factors which led to
it.
'I think that any life is as valid as the next, such that an ending of
25 is as good as 88. I have no real regrets or fears any more, I just
feel decisive and justified'
‘She was a high achiever, her marriage was also a big factor. She wanted
it to succeed but he was in South Africa doing his masters. She moved
and they decided to put that marriage on hold.
‘She had come here as a very young girl and it really affected her that
we were all dispersed in different countries. In the last few days we
had been trying to get back in touch with each other.
‘But because of the time difference- me in Canada - we kept missing each
other. I sent her an email and did not hear back then I heard.
‘She was trying to be the one to bring the family together, she had a
lot on her shoulders weighing on her. She had high objectives we were
taught to hold our chin up and get on with it.‘She tried to persevere
she wanted to do that to protect your feelings - she didn’t want to make
you feel bad.’
'She was a high achiever, her marriage was also a big factor. She wanted
it to succeed but he was in South Africa doing his masters. She moved
and they decided to put that marriage on hold'Caroline Lusiche, Mrs
Bukokhe's sister
Mrs Bukokhe’s flatmate of two years, Stefanie Maccalli, told the
hearing: ‘She was a really artistic, creative person, very active - and I
think everybody who didn’t know her particularly well found her the
happiest person in the world.
‘I would say the creative and joy and artistic side was real but the
happiness she was showing all the time was not always real. There were
times when she was not this happy, outgoing person.
'The two years I knew her where divided into a two periods, the first
she was taking medication for the bipolar and she was always very happy.
‘In the second part she changed the amount of medication. She would have
ups and downs every few weeks. When low she would not like to talk too
much and would take a day off work and stay in her room and watch
movies.
‘We tried to open the door it wouldn’t open - it was obvious that it was
closed from the inside. We decided to try and break the door, we looked
inside and she was on the floor in front of the door.
‘She was dressed with make-up and her nails done, she looked like she had been somewhere nice or she was just going somewhere.’
'When I found out it shocked me very much. She always put a brave face
on, she said she did feel very lonely'Dr Javaid Khan, Mrs Bukokhe's
doctor
The inquest was told Mrs Bukokhe had last seen her doctor, Dr Javaid Khan, in March this year.
He told the inquest that she had stopped taking her medication in
January, and said she was feeling low and her sleep was variable and she
had a lack of motivation.
Dr Khan said: ‘She was having suicidal thoughts but she could put them
aside. She was not a severe type of manic depression, there was a low
assessment of suicide.
‘When I found out it shocked me very much. She always put a brave face on, she said she did feel very lonely.’
Recording a verdict of suicide, Deputy Coroner for Manchester Carolyn
Singleton said: ‘I’m sure that Sharon intended to kill herself.’
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