Inside the tragic final hours of 30-year-old police escort officer

Investigators have begun piecing together the circumstances that may have driven a police constable attached to the Police Escort Unit (PEU) in Ruiru to take his own life, with preliminary findings pointing to prolonged domestic problems that left him emotionally distressed.

Constable Dennis Kibet Cheruiyot, 30, was found dead inside his house at the PEU residential camp in Juja Sub- County, Kiambu County, on Wednesday morning after he allegedly shot himself using his service firearm.

Sources familiar with the ongoing investigations and the contents of a handwritten note recovered from the scene told The Standard that the officer had been grappling with marital problems that eventually led to his separation from his wife and their two young children a boy and a girl.

According to the source, the troubled marriage had taken a heavy emotional toll on the officer.

"From what is contained in the note, he felt overwhelmed by the collapse of his young family. He wrote that the separation from his wife and children had left him in deep emotional pain and was among the reasons he decided to end his life," said a source familiar with the investigations who is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The source added that investigators are treating the handwritten note as a crucial piece of evidence as they seek to establish the events leading to the officer's death.

The tragedy has also exposed the silent mental health struggles affecting some officers within the disciplined services.

Following the incident, counsellors were brought in to offer psychosocial support to officers attached to the unit.

"Many officers opened up during the counselling sessions. Some spoke about family pressures, financial challenges and work-related stress they have been carrying for a long time but had never shared before," the source said.

According to a police report, the incident was reported at Kays Police Station at about 8:30 a.m., although the officer is believed to have died at around 5:10 a.m.

Senior officers led by PEU Deputy Commandant George Kirera visited the scene alongside officers from the Juja Sub-County Police Command, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Kays Police Station and Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) personnel.

The officers found Cheruiyot's body lying on his bed in a pool of blood inside House No. 14, Block D3, at the PEU residential lines. He was still holding his Jericho pistol.

Police recovered the firearm together with two magazines—one loaded with 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition and another with 13 rounds. One live round was found in the chamber, while investigators established that a single bullet had been fired.

Preliminary findings indicate the bullet entered through the officer's right cheek and exited through the back left side of his head. The spent bullet was recovered from the scene.

Crime scene investigators processed and documented the house before the body was moved to the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital mortuary, where it is awaiting a post-mortem examination.

When contacted for comment, Juja Sub-County Police Commander Isaac Kombo referred all inquiries to the Police Escort Unit command, saying the matter is being handled jointly by the unit and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the officer's death are ongoing.