Your Gun Is To Protect Life, Not To Take Life: Kenyatta To Police

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 9 – The National Police Service (NPS) is once again in the spotlight following the Tuesday shooting rampage by a police officer, leading to the death of six people. He later killed himself.

Police constable Benson Imbatu, who was based in Kabete, committed the tragic incident at about 1 am, moments after he left his workstation, without saying a word.

What transpired after he went home is not yet clear. He had another wife at his rural home in Kitale.

Senior police officers have hinted at a possible mental health issue.

Such cases have been rampant to what has been attributed to police officers being exposed to stress-related issues both at work and home.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is now calling on officers to speak up and reach out whenever they are battling mental health challenges.

“There is no problem that can not be resolved if people speak together. I am saying so because, something is bothering me, Inspector General of Police, it is important to speak to these young people. Mental health is also a real problem, but it is a problem that can be addressed if you reach out, ” the President said.

Kenyatta while speaking at the National Police College Embakasi B Campus in Nairobi County where he presided over the 48th passing-out-parade of the General Service Unit (GSU) said that it was imperative that mental health is addressed not only among police officers but also among Kenyans nationwide.

“There is no need to commit certain acts that we see. Your gun is to protect life not to take life. I want to tell the youth, we face a lot of problems but as a government, we want to address these problems. If you feel you have a problem, at home or even at work, look for your friend, your superior officer, your family members, and just talk. That alone can help you find solutions to your problems,” he said.

Kenyatta reiterated sentiments of health professionals that there is no shame in speaking out and reaching out for help “as solutions will always be provided to those battling mental heath issues.”

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i had on Tuesday revealed that the government will commit more resources to mental health and counselling in the Police and Prisons departments in order to help officers deal with stress and other personal challenges.

The CS stated that mental health issues are not exclusive to police officers and called for collective efforts to tackle the underlying social pressures and support for the people in need of help.

–Calls For NPS To ‘Wake up’ and Help Officers–

Experts have identified psychological challenges as a major contributor to increased suicide cases among officers.

An attempt by former Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet to address the challenges did not yield much and a report commissioned to establish the cause of the suicide among police officers three years ago was never made public.

Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai however says the National Police Service has a dedicated department to handle the issues of mental health within the service at all times.

The National Police Service Commission is also establishing a mental health unit, to offer psychosocial support to police officers.

This was after a General Service Unit officer in April this year killed his wife, a traffic officer based at Kilimani Police Division, before committing suicide.

The deceased officer was among bodyguards assigned to Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi while his wife was a traffic police officer.

The officer identified by police as Hudson Wakise is said to have opened fire on his wife after a quarrel over domestic issues at the woman’s house, just outside the GSU camp in Ruaraka.

Such cases have been on the increase lately, with at least two cases reported every month across the country, according to available statistics.

Work-related trauma has been identified as a major contributor to the latest series of killings.

IG Mutyambai had in 2019 launched a new programme Muamko Mpya-Healing the Uniform Initiative to give psychological support to officers.

“The ultimate goal of the initiative is to provide officers with knowledge, tools, and a framework to assist them to support each other while handling traumatic situations,” Mutyambai said.

“They encounter most of these situations on personal and professional levels.”

But while such initiatives have been started, it is not yet clear whether they are impactful.

On January 4, 2021, a police officer in Garissa shot and killed himself.

This happened a few hours after a prison warder in Mwea committed suicide after killing a police officer in an alleged love triangle.

The two incidents followed the January 3, 2021 murder-suicide at Kamukunji Police Station in Nairobi, where an officer killed his female colleague and injured another before taking his own life.

In March, an officer from Kisii also shot two of his colleagues where one died and the other sustained serious injuries after an argument.