Police shoots and injures senior before committing suicide in Garissa

GARISSA COUNTY: An Administration Police officer committed suicide after shooting and injuring his senior in a bizarre incident at the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab.

Police say they are yet to know the motive of the shooting incident. The officer is said to first shot and seriously wounded his senior- a senior sergeant- in the shoulder after an argument before turning the gun to his head and blew it up at their base.

His colleagues rushed to the scene of the shooting only to find his body next to the gun before rushing the injured one to hospital, North Eastern head of police Patrick Lumumba said of the Sunday evening case.

“We are yet to know the motive of the shooting because his colleagues heard gunshot and on checking they found him dead before rushing the injured one to hospital,” said Lumumba.

Cases of suicide among police officers are on the rise.

Last month, another AP shot himself dead in his house in Ongata Rongai, Nairobi.

Authorities said Administration Police constable Moses Omondi is thought to have shot himself in the chest in unclear circumstances.

He and a colleague were supposed to guard a local church.

Omondi excused himself from work to his house where gunshots were heard.

In July, a CID officer committed suicide after killing his wife in a domestic quarrel in Kahawa West area.

Another officer with the AP had early last month also tried to commit suicide in his house at Uhuru Camp in Nairobi in vain. He had left work and went to the toilet with his G3 rifle that he used to shoot himself in vain. He is admitted in hospital with serious wounds.

Cases of suicide in the police are on the rise amid claims of poor pay, stress and living conditions are the main causes.

To mitigate the problem, police have been trying to launch counselling sessions for the officers and increase their perks.

Police attribute the situation to their poor living condition and pay.