- NPSC has recruited 16 counsellors, 11 social workers and support staff to help officers suffering mental health across the country.
- Report says a further 104 officers with mental illness and psychosis have been scheduled for assessment by the medical board established by the Commission.
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
National Police Service Commission is closely monitoring some 217 mental cases within the the service.
This comes at a time the country is recordig a worrying surge in cases of officers committing suicide or turning guns on colleagues or relatives.
NPSC said a total 113 police officers within the National Police Service are currently undergoing treatment for mental illness across the country.
Of the 113 officers, female officers are only four while the remaining 109 are males. The figures are contained in a document tabled before the National Assembly's Committee on Administration and National Security.
According to the document obtained by the Star, a further 104 officers with mental illness and psychosis have been scheduled for assessment by the medical board established by the commission.
The assessment, according to NPSC that is chaired by Eliud Kinuthia, will determine the suitability of the affected officers to continue with their duties.
“The above situation poses a great challenge to the wellbeing of members of the police service and operational efficiency in delivering security services.
"There is a great concern for the need to respond to these circumstances,” the NPSC document states.
The report comes amidst an increasing and worrying wave of killings among police officers.
In some instances, the officers either commit suicide or turn their guns on colleagues before taking their lives in the most bizarre manner.
There is a growing concern among the public that rogue police officers could pose a danger to citizens given that they are armed by virtue of their duties.
Last month, fugitive cop Caroline Kangogo - a suspect in the killing of two people, including police Constable John Ogweno – shot herself after weeks of evading law enforcers' dragnets.
In April, a bodyguard attached to Interior CS Fred Matiangi’s office died in a shooting incident alongside his wife, who was a traffic officer.
The General Service Unit officer, Hudson Wakise, shot and killed his wife, Pauline Wakasa, before turning the gun on himself. Officers who visited the scene found the bodies in the sitting room.
Kinuthia told the committee that the commission is concerned with the incidents.
He indicated the NPSC has deployed counsellors to 31 counties spread across the three police formations.
“The commission recently recruited 16 counsellors, 11 social workers and support staff to provide counselling services to police officers across the country,” the NPSC document states.
“However, there is still a huge gap to meet the rising cases of mental illness.
NPSC has also recommended enhanced salaries to police officers.
The commission has presented to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission job descriptions for consideration in the current cycle for salary review.
The committee chaired by Limuru MP Peter Mwathi was meeting the commission to to be apprised on the measures put in place to protect police officers.
Th measures are to address the challenges associated with psychological, mental, social and emotional welfare of officers in the face of suicides and murders within the ranks in the NPS.
The meeting however ended prematurely after MPs took issue with the absence of Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambei and his two deputies.
Mwathi said at least the IG or any of his deputies must be present to make the commission complete.
The meeting was rescheduled to Wednesday next week.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)