A police officer was on Wednesday, December 27 found dead in his house in Buuri, Meru County in a suspected suicide case.
The junior officer, Corporal Simon Gitonga, was posted to Ngusishi police post.
Apparently, he shot himself in the head in his house located within the police post compound. His colleagues reportedly found his lifeless body lying in a pool of blood in his house.
According to a report filed at Timau police station, the deceased’s colleagues reportedly heard gunshots from his house at around 3am and rushed to check what had transpired.
They discovered Corporal Gitonga had used his AK47 rifle to shoot himself in the chin.
Police said the bullet went through and exited his forehead, killing him instantly.
A suicide note was reportedly found near his body, suggesting that the deceased was experiencing financial and family challenges.
His body was moved to the mortuary pending postmortem.
Mental health issues within the police service has been a matter of concern and has been highlighted on numerous occasions by top leadership.
Earlier this month, Inspector General of police Japheth Koome complained of excessive drinking among police officers.
Speaking to the media, IG Koome said many officers were trapped in that lifestyle, which has led to poor financial management and misuse of weapons.
“I have spoken to you on three occasions to quit the bottle. Drunkenness is turning into a menace in the police service,” he added.
Other than drunkenness, IG Koome acknowledged that police officers were facing mental health issues.
A study conducted by the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) in 2020 revealed that one in every ten police officers in the country is mentally challenged.
This number may have risen over the past three years owing to the increasing cases of suicide, murder or assault linked to the officers.
This analysis further unveiled that about 12,000 police officers suffer from mental health, thus recommending that mental illness be declared a national emergency.
Among the major reasons for this ‘pandemic’ among the officers were; promotion, deployments, transfers, training and financial management.
