A bodyguard attached to Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu was found dead after a suspected suicide incident in a rental house in Nanyuki town.
The police officer, who has worked with the governor since assuming office in September 2022, shot himself through the mouth on Wednesday January 29 afternoon with the bullet exiting through the back of the head.
Laikipia East police boss John Tarus confirmed the 3pm incident but said he was yet to get the fine details of what exactly transpired.
The motive of the incident is yet to be known.
The officer lived alone at Blue Gum Estate but has a wife and a three-month-old baby back at his rural home in Nyanza.
He is reported to have taken a boda boda ride from Nanyuki town to his home, about three kilometres away.
He had instructed the rider to wait for him so that they could go back to town together.
The rider said he heard the sound of a gunshot, prompting him to report the incident at a local police station.
Police visited the scene and moved the body to the mortuary pending autopsy and other investigations.
The deceased’s last official assignment was last Monday when the president’s advisor on women rights and gender Harriet Chigai and officials from Habitat for Human Kenya paid a courtesy call on the governor in his office ahead of commissioning of a low-cost housing project in Naibor village in honor of the late US President Jimmy Carter.
This is the latest such incident to happen and is linked to trauma.
At least three suicide cases involving police officers are recorded every month.
Officials say police are generally on the receiving end of all community problems.
They are expected to maintain law and order in very difficult situations, besides putting their lives at risk.
Over the years, a spike in deaths in the service has been linked to trauma.
They include deaths by gun.
Police authorities said police officers worldwide tend to die by suicide more than the general public.
Inspector General of police Douglas Kanja also said depression affects all people regardless of age or social status, but police officers report higher levels of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder than the general population.
He said police work is a very noble career because one gets to serve and protect humanity.
However, the nature of policework as shown by research globally, is also very demanding and stressful.
