- IPOA to probe claims Wanyama used a shoe lace to kill himself.
- The shoe lace was found on the victim’s neck and efforts by the cellmates to save him were futile.
Image: THE STAR
Authorities are investigating the circumstances under which a suspect died by suicide while in police custody at the Kasarani police cells.
Officials said Fredrick Wanjala Wanyama, 30, hanged himself in the cells using his shoelace on Monday morning.
He had been detained at the cells pending transportation to Eldoret to face assault charges.
He had failed to appear in court and a warrant of arrest was issued against him before he was arrested and placed in custody, police said.
Officials at Kasarani police said they were informed by other suspects in the cell that Wanyama used a shoelace to kill himself.
The shoelace was found on the victim’s neck and efforts by the cellmates to save him were futile.
The body was processed and taken to the mortuary.
Officials from Independent Policing Oversight Authority said they will investigate the incident and make recommendations.
Police officers who were on duty were later questioned about the incident.
The suspects who were present were also questioned over the incident as part of the probe.
Officials want to understand if it is possible the man died after the suicide using the shoelace.
Meanwhile, two people died by suicide at the weekend in the city. The first incident happened in Dandora where Caroline Cheptum, 30, died by jumping from the sixth floor of a building.
In Kayole, the body of Joseph Njoroge was found dangling on a roof after a suspected suicide. Police say they are investigating the incidents.
Cases of suicide have been on the rise this year and authorities blame the trend on mental distress.
Police handled 499 cases in 2019 and 575 in 2020. At least 313 people are reported to have taken their lives between January and July 2021.
The majority of the victims were male, police reports say.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says such cases are attributed to joblessness, the breakup of relationships or a death, academic failures or pressures, legal difficulties, financial difficulties, bullying, previous suicide attempts, history of suicide in a family, alcoholism and substance misuse, depression and bipolar disorder.
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.