•The police now plan to recommend that Sankok be charged with negligence in handling his firearm.
•Sankok is a licensed gun holder and possesses a pistol. Both weapons were taken away for ballistic tests.
Image: KIPLANG'AT KIRUI
Preliminary investigations have shown nominated MP David Sankok’s 15-year-old son used a shotgun to kill himself in their Narok home on Monday.
A postmortem on the body of Memusi Sankok was done on Tuesday.
The bullet entered through the chin and exited in the head.
Pathologists working on the body concluded it was suicide.
Initially, it was believed he used a pistol to end his life.
The police now plan to recommend that Sankok be charged with negligence in handling his firearm.
Sankok is a licensed gun holder and possesses a pistol. Both weapons were taken away for ballistic tests.
Apart from the charges, the team handling the case plans to recommend an inquest into the death.
The probe file will be sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions with the recommendations, police said.
Sankok was Tuesday grilled by police over the incident. The MP’s wife, daughter and some workers were also questioned.
Detectives from the Narok DCI office visited Sankok at his home and held a brief discussion on the incident.
They recorded his statement.
They also visited the scene where the boy died.
Officials aware of the developments said the officers also inspected the safe where the weapon was kept.
Police said they want to understand the circumstances under which the incident happened.
A licensed firearm holder is supposed to ensure the safety of his or her gun.
The boy was a Form 3 student at Kericho High School. According to the family, he was to return to school last week.
The father who was out of the country sent money for shopping.
“He instead disappeared from the home and only returned Sunday, the same day his father came back,” a family friend said.
According to officials, Monday morning, the father summoned the boy for a talk and said he was tired of school.
However, after a lengthy discussion, the boy gave in and they agreed to go back to school on Tuesday accompanied by the father.
No one was in the house as all other family members had stepped out.
The MP had left the homestead to his nearby hotel for a political meeting.
At around 3 pm, the boy accessed the mother's handbag and took the keys to the bedroom and the safe.
He took the weapon and shot himself.
His sister and their other brother were also outside. It is his brother who stumbled on the body.
Detectives led by Narok head of DCI Mwenda Ethaiba are investigating the incident.
Police say the case will be handled professionally.
Cases of suicide have been on the rise in the country. The World Health Organization says such cases are attributed to joblessness, death, academic failures or pressures, legal and financial difficulties.
Other reasons are bullying, previous suicide attempts, history of suicide in a family, alcoholism and substance abuse, depression and bipolar disorder.
WHO rates suicide as a serious global public health issue that is among the top 20 leading causes of death worldwide.
Globally, close to 800,000 people die of suicide every year with an estimated 78 per cent of cases occurring in low and middle-income countries.
Kenya ranks position 114 among the 175 countries with the highest suicide rates.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris