A police officer said to be attached to Buruburu Police Station is reported to have taken his own life after a video that captured him seemingly drunk and staggering home went viral.
The policeman, who has attracted the attention of Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, is reported to have ended his life at the police housing quarters in Buruburu.
According to as police report, the officer who has been identified as Harrison Mugo, took his life using a rope at the Buruburu police station canteen area leaving his colleagues in shock.
“It was reported by Mr Salim Onteri, a grounds man at Buruburu police line, that he woke up at 6am for his normal duties near the police canteen when he spotted the deceased hanging on rafters of the burnt police canteen within the police station lines,” reads part of the police report.
Senior police officers from Kamukunji Police Station later visited the scene before the body of the deceased was moved to Mama Lucy Teaching and Referral Hospital's mortuary.
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The death comes only hours after IG Mutyambai, through his office, indicated that it had taken note of the viral video circulating on social media and would interrogate it.
On Wednesday, in a statement, the National Police Service described the behaviour of the visibly intoxicated police officer as “unbecoming, unacceptable and unprofessional.”
“The National Police Service condemns it in the strongest terms possible. A uniformed police officer is a visible representation and face of government and is required to remain extremely disciplined and professional while on duty and off duty,” read the police statement as they said they would handle the matter away from the public eye.
This comes amid an alarming rise in cases of mental health and suicide in the Kenya police service, with President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2021 calling for concerted efforts to tame this.
