Interior CS Fred Matiang'i has said the government will commit more resources to mental health and counselling in the Police and Prisons departments to help officers deal with stress and other personal challenges.
Speaking at the Administration Police Training College in Embakasi during a memorial service for police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty, the CS said that the Kabete incident pointed to deep-lying issues in the society.
Matiang'i said the officers, like other members of society, are susceptible to stressful work environment that has been compounded by the challenges of the Covid pandemic.
The CS was reacting to an incident in which a policeman killed six people in Kabete, including his wife.
Matiang'i said although preliminary investigations on the shooting pointed to a possible love triangle as the likely trigger, detectives had been dispatched to the scene with a brief to conduct thorough investigations.
"The DCI and the Police Internal Affairs department are already on location. Within three days, we should be able to share with the public the findings from the investigations. We have nothing to hide,’ the CS said.
He also expressed concerns with how the case and other cases of suspected mental health involving officers were being reported especially on social media and urged for sensitivity and compassion around the subject.
"Why should people spread rumours to score points yet we have a grave issue we are dealing with? Why wake up in the morning spinning stories and insulting everyone? What kind of a society are we building? Some of the people doing this call themselves leaders and opinion shapers."
He stated that mental health issues are not exclusive to police officers and called for collective efforts to tackle the underlying social pressures and support for the people in need of help.
"We have had challenges across the country – not only in the National Police Service. There are mental issues, social pressure and cases of homicides. It’s not going to be a matter of the police or the provincial administration. It requires all of us. That is how we build a strong community.”
This is a deliberate drive to destigmatise mental health and stress and to actively reach out to potential cases through the existing social-cultural structure, including Nyumba Kumi Initiative, according to the CS.
“What happened is very unfortunate, but let us exercise a sense of responsibility. We have built institutions over the years painstakingly, and they are strong enough to deal with the challenges we have. We’ve been having meetings with faith based groups and the clergy over the same.”
He also announced that due to the challenges and disputes encountered during the processing of compensation for beneficiaries of deceased officers, every serving officer will be required to provide an accurate record of their kin and preferred beneficiaries.
