Policeman shoots himself dead over transfer in Garissa

A police officer committed suicide by shooting himself at a camp in Garissa Town.

The officer used his official gun to shoot himself in the mouth and died on the spot on Tuesday.

According to his colleagues, the officer was under stress after serving in the region for three years and instead of being transferred to a better place he was transferred to Ijara AP camp.

“He was moved to near a post that was attacked by Al-shabaab late last year. He was stressed and left a note to show he was not happy,” said a colleague.

The body was moved to a mortuary ahead of its transfer to Nairobi.

North Eastern regional coordinator Mohamud Saleh said investigations had been launched into the incident.

This is the latest incident involving police in a series that have been reported of late. Police say such cases are on the rise due to stress in the service.

Police officers’ relationships with their families, their colleagues and seniors among other issues have been identified as some of the causes of such incidents.

Inspector General Joseph Boinnet had in 2016 received a report on the causes of shootings by police officers targeting their colleagues.

The probe was done by a team of officers led by Aggrey Adoli with a view to establishing the causes and also remedial actions.

Incidents of suicide in general have been on the rise with the majority of the victims being men.

Between January and March there was however a decrease in suicide where 86 cases were reported this year compared to last year where 110 cases were reported.

There were 421 cases of suicide in 2017, 302 in 2016, 221 in 2015 and 301 in 2014. Majority of the victims were men.

In 2017, 330 men committed suicide while 224 men committed suicide in 2016, 177 in 2015 and 239 in 2014.

The trend shows a disturbing situation in the society. Officials say societal stresses are the cause of the situation.