A 44-year-old prison officer has committed suicide by shooting himself in one of the rooms at his workstation.
Callistus Muyeshi, an officer at Kapsabet Prison in Nandi County shot himself yesterday, August 3, around 5.30 pm in the prison's changing room.
The Nandi Central OCPD Dorice Chemos confirmed the incident, saying his colleagues are yet to wrap their minds around the matter.
“He reported at work at around 12:30 pm in a jovial mood as usual. Nobody could realise whether he had any problem.” the OCPD noted.
His colleagues say Callistus was very much okay, and they were not aware if he had any problems because he did not show any signs.
They added that when they heard the gunshots, they rushed to the scene and were shocked to find him lying in the changing room.
“At around 5:30 in the evening, his colleagues heard bullet sounds and rushed to the scene where they found him dead,” the OCPD remarked.
This incident has taken place against the backdrop of a report, showing that cases of police officers committing suicide are on the rise.
So serious is the matter within the police ranks that various police departments have opted for mental health sessions in a bid to try and curb the menace.
In Muyeshi’s case, for instance, no one, not even his colleagues, had the roughest idea on why he committed suicide.
However, Chemos said they have begun investigations to know why the warden shot himself despite looking jovial earlier before the incident.
In the meantime, his body has been moved to the Kapsabet Referral Hospital, awaiting postmortem.
