NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 8- The International Justice Mission says there is need for psychological support for police officers, following the recent incident where a General Service Unit officer killed his wife before committing suicide.
The officer, Hudson Wakise was a body guard attached to Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiangi.
He shot dead his wife of 10 years after a quarrel, and then proceeded to turn the gun on himself. His wife, Pauline Wakasa was a traffic police officer based at the Kilimani Police Division.
“We have noted with concern a growing trend of police killings and suicides with the latest incident of Police Constable Hudson Wasike who allegedly shot himself after killing his wife Police Constable Pauline Wakasa following what has been termed as a domestic row,” the IJM-Kenya said in a statement.
The IJM-Kenya said such incidents points into a deeper psychological trauma that needs to be addressed urgently.
“This is a worrying trend,” the lobby group said.
To reverse it, IJM-Kenya urged Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to provide more resources to the police department of counselling.
“As an organization that seeks to confront violence involving law enforcement, we hope going forward, the Inspector General of Police will focus on dialogue among officers and partners. We believe by working together to raise awareness on mental health issues, we can prevent such suicides and deaths,” the lobby group said.
But who is to blame for the menace?
The NGO pointed out that, “Police officers work in strenuous conditions with long working hours, low monthly income, separation from their families and most stations have bad housing conditions.”
“Consequently, Police officers are exposed to the stress inherent in their jobs and their mental wellbeing is essential as they make life-or-death decisions while protecting the citizens they serve.”
Such incidents have been happening within the National Police Service and despite efforts to address the root cause, they have persisted.
A taskforce formed in 2016 made a myriad of recommendations and whether their implemented is still unknown since their report was never made public.
Poor working conditions and psychological issues are among issues identified as contributing factors.
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Three months ago, a similar incident occurred in Kamukunji, after a police officer shot dead his colleague before turning the gun on himself.
Lawrence Ewoi, a Quick Response Unit officer attached to Kamukunji Police Station, shot Mourine Achieng.
Ewoi had a confrontation with his colleagues before he started shooting indiscriminately.
He fled the scene but was later cornered and he was about to be arrested, police said, he turned the gun on himself.
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