There was shock and anger after a police officer shot and killed his lover before turning the gun to himself in a murder-suicide incident in the Sosiot trading center in Belgut, Kericho county.
Constable Bernard Bilayi first shot and killed Shauline Akoth before he turned the gun on himself Wednesday morning, police and witnesses said.
He was attached to the Critical Infrastructure Protection Unit (CIPU) and he was guarding the Belgut sub-county headquarters when the incident happened at about 10 am.
The officer shot the girlfriend at her workplace, which is directly across the street from the sub-county headquarters.
After shooting his girlfriend, the officer reportedly went home and turned the gun on himself.
He shot himself in the chin dying on the spot. His body was found in a pool of blood with the killer weapon, a G3 rifle next to it, police said.
The motive of the incident is yet to be known.
It is the latest in a series affecting police officers where they kill and die by suicide.
Dozens of police officers have died as a result of suicide a trend that is attributed to stress at work.
As part of efforts to address the trend, police authorities have launched counseling services and the National Police Service Commission has established a unit and staffed it to attend to their demanding situation.
