UPDATE 8:01 Interior CS Fred Matiang'i on Wednesday, April 7, issued a statement after a police constable attached to his ministry killed his wife before he took his own life.
The CS indicated that he was deeply pained by the tragic incidence involving the couple whom he stated were young and vibrant.
"It's a rude awakening to psychological challenges amongst some of our young officers that we have no choice but to now pay greater attention to. My sincere condolences to their families and friends," he stated.
The police constable attached to Interior CS Fred Matiang'i's security team on Tuesday evening, April 6, shot dead his wife before turning the gun on himself.
A statement by the National Police Service (NPS) indicated that Hudson Wakise and his wife, police constable Pauline Wekesa, had a domestic altercation before the unfortunate incident took place.
"Wakise briefly talked to his wife and they started exchanging bitter words. The wife was accusing him of infidelity. As a result, Wakise went out of the house and shortly returned in the sitting room. He suddenly drew out his Jericho pistol s/no. KP- 44333035 and fired several rounds at his wife's chest killing her instantly. He then turned the firearm to himself and shot on his chin," reads a police report.
Wakise was attached to the VIP protection at the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government while his wife was a traffic officer attached to Kilimani Police Station.
The bodyguard is said to have been off duty since Thursday, April 1, and only reported back to work on Tuesday, April 6. He, however, left at 3pm and retired to his residence near the GSU camp.
Eye witnesses and neighbours are helping the police to piece together information that will aid in the investigations.
Their bodies have been moved to the Kenyatta University Mortuary awaiting postmortem.
In January, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) released a report saying that the spike in murder and suicide cases among police officers could be linked to the limited supervision of junior officers residing outside police camps.
"Stagnation in rank, disciplinary actions arising from desertion and inadequate monitoring of junior officers leaving outside police lines are among causes of stress in officers identified," reads an excerpt of the statement.
NPSC Chairperson Eluid Kinuthia and a number of other County Commissioners unanimously agreed to develop and strengthen a structured communication channel, as well as enhance monitoring of police officers.
