POLICE OFFICER SETS HIMSELF ON FIRE INSIDE STATION HOUSE

A police officer based in Siaya County burned to death on Thursday, September 2, inside his house.Police suspect the Administration Police officer died after setting himself on fire inside his house.

The fire also razed down adjacent houses that accommodate other officers attached to Siaya AP Camp.

Reports indicate that the body of the officer was burnt beyond recognition even as detectives suspect it was a suicide case.

Fire burns down houses at AP Line in Siaya on Thursday, September 2

This comes barely a week after the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) launched a scheme to address the escalating suicide and murder cases among police officers.

NPS launched a scheme aimed at addressing depression – the main cause of the high cases of murder and suicide – in a program that will see officers undergo mental assessment, before being put on a recovery programme.

In the exercise, more than 100,000 police officers will undergo mental tests with the aim of determining if they are fit to discharge their duties effectively.

The exercise was conducted in Nairobi, with the same being rolled out across the country.

NPSC chairperson, Eliud Kinuthia told the National Assembly’s Committee on Administration and National Security that a medical board to carry out the exercise is already in place.

The pilot exercise is already monitoring more than 200 officers with mental-related illnesses.

NPSC announced that it was assessing 104 officers to determine their mental fitness. 113 others are under medication for mental illness.

Residents looking at the house where body of police officer was found with burn wounds on Thursday, September 2

By Muhabarishaji