A Nairobi-based police officer who looked to be drunk and stumbling while on duty in a viral video has committed suicide.
According to a police report cited by The Nation, the officer passed away at the Buruburu police houses.
Twenty-four hours had barely passed since the National Police Service (NPS) had released a statement stating that it had taken note of the video and that the proper disciplinary action would be taken.
“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,” the statement read
This comes in the midst of several government campaigns stressing the importance of addressing the rising mental health challenges within the police force.
Fred Matiang’i, the interior cabinet secretary, said the government will devote more resources to combating the dangerous problem.
The grim condition was made public by Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai in April, along with the revelation that 2,000 police officers were psychologically unable to do their duties, adding to the mounting anxiety about the rise in suicide and despair among law enforcement personnel.
“We have subjected all the officers to medical examination, and to our surprise, we got a big number of mentally-disturbed police officers. We isolated almost 2,000 police officers who are unfit to do their law enforcement work,” he said.
