Officer shoots colleague, self as concern rises over police suicides

A Police Constable based at Kimala Matta police post in Taita Taveta county shot dead his senior before turning the gun on himself yesterday morning.

Constable Felix Koskei was returning his official firearm to the armoury at around 7.30 am after night duties when he shot Corporal David Kazungu.

The Corporal was shot on the right side of his head and the bullet exited on the left side, again on the chest and upper left leg.

He died on the spot. Constable Koskei then shot himself in the chin and was rushed to Taveta Sub-County hospital in serious condition but later succumbed to the injuries.

Colleagues said the cause of the shooting was not immediately established adding that the two were known to be “officers of few words.”

According to mental experts and records, about 60 police officers die by suicide every year due to social, financial and work pressures with the situation continuing to worsen.

In another case in Kamukunji, Nairobi county yesterday, a police officer went berserk and fired four rounds before he was finally disarmed and taken to Nairobi West Hospital.

A recent survey supporting this data shows that 90 per cent of police officers are experiencing challenges related to alcoholism with 50 per cent requiring psychosocial support to come out of drunkenness.

Another survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and National Police Service (NPS) conducted among members of the service found that about 61 per cent of the officers were regular consumers of alcohol.

Some officers use alcohol as a way to cope with the daily stress of their job, or as a way to self-medicate for depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The Kamukunji officer attached to undercover duties within Muthurwa/Landhies road started experiencing hallucinations yesterday morning as they were being addressed by their seniors.

He ran away at high speed claiming his life was in danger and that some unknown people wanted to kill him.
Kamukunji station commander mobilised a team to track him down and disarm him.

His two colleagues spotted him along Harambee Avenue and managed to talk to him with a view to establishing what the problem was. He suddenly removed Ceska’s pistol loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition and fired four rounds.

As a result of the struggle, he injured his left hand just above the wrist. “He was later disarmed and escorted to Kamukunji police station,” the police commander said.