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A toddler was rescued from their house after staying for days with the decomposing bodies of her parents in Kikuyu, Kiambu county.
Though initial reports indicated they could have died by suicide, detectives said they had launched investigations and it is suspected the man could have killed the wife before taking his own life.

The bodies of the man and his wife were found in their house in Karinde village by a neighbour who alerted the police. Officers found the man’s body hanging on the rafters while the wife’s body was on the floor, with an electric cable around the neck.

“A small child aged about one-and-half years was lying beside the deceased mother. The child was rushed to Mutuini Hospital for treatment,” police said.

The bodies were transferred to the City Funeral Home awaiting postmortem examination.

Police report that another man died by suicide on Monday in Githimu, Kandara Sub-county. The body of Geoffrey Kongo Nungari 38, was found hanging on a rope from his bathroom rafters. There was no suicide note recovered.

Surge in suicides

The country has witnessed a surge in suicide cases with police officers being among the most affected.

On Sunday, the body of Fredrick Muchai Gitahi aged 69 was also found hanging inside his shop at Kimuri market in Nairutia, Nyeri county.

“A hand written suicide note was found at the scene. Investigations have been launched to establish the circumstances surrounding the death.

In another case in Sigor, West Pokot, the body of Simon Kapeliswa, 28, and a resident of Asal Sub-Location was found hanging from the roof rafters. No suicide note was recovered in the house.

Another case was reported in Gatundu town where David Nganga Wacuka aged 22 is reported to have died by suicide inside his rented house.

On Monday morning, a police officer also died by suicide by shooting himself with a gun at the National Police College (NPC) in Kiganjo, Nyeri county.

College commandant

Corporal Collins Imoni Onyando turned the gun on himself while guarding the residence of the college commandant, according to police headquarters.

“It was a single shot below the chin that exited from the head,” the report adds. His colleagues recovered the firearm, a CZ 807 rifle loaded with 29 rounds of ammunition, and one spent cartridge, near the body. About 60 police officers die by suicide every year due to stress and social, financial and workplace pressures with the situation continuing to worsen, according to mental health experts.

A recent survey supporting this data shows that 90 percent of police officers are experiencing challenges related to alcoholism with 50 percent requiring psychosocial support to come out of drunkenness. On Wednesday last week, the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja warned that though all people are vulnerable to some level of stress and mental illness, the vulnerability of police officers to mental illness is escalated by unique factors.

“The nature of police work as shown by research globally, is also very demanding and stressful. For instance, Police Officers are constantly handling traumatic and disturbing scenes of crime and accidents that often leave them with long-term mental and psychological trauma,” IG Kanja said.

The police boss also revealed that most law enforcement officers shy away from seeking mental health assistance which delays possible interventions. Due to these realities and the prevalent challenges, mental health remains a pertinent issue in our country, according to Kanja.