Siaya Police officer shoots self in an attempted case of suicide

SIAYA, Kenya, Oct 27- A police officer attached to the Sigmore police station in Ugunja, Siaya county, remains in critical condition at the Siaya county referral hospital after he attempted suicide.

This is the latest incident of a police officer trying to commit suicide, in what has been linked to mental health issues.

According to police reports seen by Shahidi News, the officer had been issued with a G3 rifle having 20 rounds of ammunition and was expected to report at 6am on Monday.

He however failed to report to his workstation as expected.

Concerned by his unexplained absence, officers went to his home, where they found him locked inside his house.

A few seconds later, they heard a loud bang of a gunshot according to the police report.

Eventually, they managed to break through the door and found the officer on the floor, while bleeding profusely.

According to the incident report, he had shot himself below the left side of his chin.

The bullet exited through his left eye.

The officer was shortly after rushed to the hospital, where he is receiving treatment and has been put on suicide watch.

Mental health among police officers and Kenyans, in general, has been captured in the recently released Building Bridges Initiative report.

The report has recommended the creation of a mental Health and Happiness Commission under a new legislation on mental health which will be mandated to address the rising cases of mental illness among Kenyans.