A police officer attached to Siala Kaduol Police Station in Gem, Siaya County, allegedly shot himself dead in unclear circumstances on Sunday night.
Police Constable Maurice Tilison Chisihavi, who was a father to one of the victims of food poisoning at Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls in Kakamega County, is said to have taken his own life in his house while on duty.
Gem Sub County Police Commander Cecilia Kemboi confirmed the incident, saying the officer used his own firearm to end his life.
“He shot himself in the chin and the bullet exited on the upper part of the head, killing him instantly,” Kemboi said.
The police boss noted that the officer could have been distressed at the time of the incident.
“He is a teetotaler and we suspect he could only kill himself if he was distressed,” Kemboi added.
Kemboi said the officer was distressed after learning that his daughter had been hospitalised after a food poisoning incident at Mukumu Girls in Kakamega County.
“His daughter is one of the victims of the Mukumu Girls High School food poisoning incident. This had greatly affected him in the last few days,” Kemboi was quoted as saying by the Star.
However, Kemboi noted that the student had been discharged from hospital and is recuperating at home.
Police have launched investigations into the suspected suicide incident with the intention of establishing the real motive of the killing.
Mukumu Girls Tragedy
A number of students are admitted in various hospitals after an outbreak of a mysterious disease at Mukumu Girls.
The health crisis has claimed the lives of three students and a teacher in recent weeks leading to the indefinite closure of the institution.
The school’s boarding mistress Juliana Mujeme is the latest victim of the food poisoning incident.
Mujeme died last Thursday after multiple organ failures.
The deceased’s family said the teacher complained of similar symptoms reported by the three students who passed on recently after allegedly being infected with bacteria from contaminated food and water.
“It started with damaged liver and kidney; then the two organs failed and later multiple organ failure,” NTV reported.
At the time of her death, she was in ICU at Lifecare Speciality Hospital in Eldoret town after being transferred from Oasis Hospital in Kakamega.
Preliminary findings from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) pointed to contaminated water and food as the cause of the outbreak of the disease at Mukumu Girls.
