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October 19, 2021 | National Police Service Spokesperson Bruno Shioso speaks to Capital FM at his Jogoo House office in Nairobi/CFM

Capital Health

NPS to cascade counselling directorate to counties to support mental wellness

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 20 – The National Police Service (NPS) is planning to rollout the directorate of counselling and chaplaincy based at its headquarters in Nairobi to all the 47 counties in a bid to address the issues of mental health amongst police officers in the country.

Speaking to Capital FM on Tuesday, Police Spokesperson Bruno Shioso stated that the move is part of a wider efforts aimed at improving the welfare of police officers in the country through offering counselling and psychosocial support.

The directorate was established in 2019 to mainstream an ongoing initiative to offer mental health support to security officers in the wake of rising cases of suicide and murders among security officers which has been attributed to poor mental health and depression.

Bruno said that for the first time the directorate which was set up about two years ago, is staffed by competent professionals, and already staffed by professional counsellors, psychologists and chaplains.

“It also has great working partnerships with the National Police Service Commission, Chiromo and Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya Red Cross amongst many other stakeholders. They identify officers with needs and offer professional support. Some have already been posted to counties, but more resources are required to fully personalize the function,” said Shioso.

He added that the National Police Service Commission is also collecting data on mental health across the country and coming up with other interventions to address the issue.

The spokesperson added that other welfare plans are centered around housing and comprehensive health insurance.

Shioso further said that other plans are on the pipeline to set up health facilities to treat mental health.

“Right now, we have around two major projects coming up, one just near Kenyatta Hospital. We have some ground around there. Very soon we will be breaking ground because the government has been kind to us and allocated about Sh 400 million towards the project,” he added.

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Several police officers have lost their lives to suicide and murders involving ugly incidents why officers turn against the colleagues and spouses. The rampant cases triggered a policy directive outlawing sexual relationships among police officers.

On April 7, a General Service Unit officer attached to the Interior Ministry headquarters’ VIP Protection shot his wife dead on night before committing suicide. He was among the bodyguards assigned to Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.

The officer identified by police as Hudson Wakise was said to have opened fire on his wife after a quarrel over domestic issues at the woman’s house, just outside the GSU camp in Ruaraka.

While mourning their deaths, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i stated that the incident “is a rude awakening call to psychological challenges amongst our young officers that we have no choice but to now greater attention to.”

In July 16, a fugitive policewoman Carolin Kangogo committed suicide to escape arrest over the murder of two people – both her boyfriends.

In August, a police officer pursued his girlfriend to a hospital in Njoro and shot her dead before he committed suicide, causing panic at the health facility.

The incident occurred at the Njoro Sub-County hospital where the lady identified as Mary Nyambura was seeking treatment shortly before midnight after she was allegedly assaulted by the officer.

The man identified as Police Constable Bernard Sivo was reported to have shot his lover Mary Nyambura several times as medics attended to her at the hospital.

On September 10, during the commemoration of World Suicide Prevention Day, Health Cabinet Administrative Secretary Dr. Rashid Aman said that that the coronavirus pandemic had contributed to the rise in suicide cases in the country.

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Aman stated that the situation had been compounded by economic difficulties and feelings of isolation which has led to mental health breakdown in most people.

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