A female police officer was rescued and rushed to hospital after she
attempted to die by suicide at the Kiambu police lines, Kiambu Town.
Her neighbour screamed for help to save her after he found her groaning
in pain and lying on the ground, police said.
She had used a police lanyard in the mission as she had tied it
around her neck.
The neighbour who is also a police officer, said he heard the
female officer groaning on September 7, 2025 dawn outside his house and dashed
out to check what it was.
It was then that he found the officer in pain and on the ground seeking
help.
The lanyard had cut off from a roof truss where she had tied it outside
the house before she fell on the ground.
She was rushed to hospital where she was admitted under watch, police
said.
The motive of the incident is yet to be established, police said.
Suicide is emerging as one of the leading causes of death in the service.
On September 10, 2025, the National Police Service joined key stakeholders and partners to
mark World Suicide Prevention Day at the Cooperative University of Kenya in
Nairobi.
The purpose of the day is to raise global awareness that suicide can be prevented.
The Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja,
was represented by the Director of Counselling and Psychosocial Support at the
Kenya Police Service (KPS) Headquarters, Evelyn Mbugua.
Kanja called for the urgent need to confront suicide as
a national concern.
Kanja emphasised the National Police Service’s
deliberate steps to strengthen mental health systems for officers and their
families.
“These efforts include establishing counselling offices, chaplaincy services, psychosocial deployment, and forming partnerships with institutions such as Africa International University and DMF-Kenya,” he said.
He called for the need to break the silence and end the stigma surrounding mental health, to strengthen access to counselling and psychosocial support, and to build strong partnerships across society to save lives.
As part of efforts to address the trend, police authorities have launched counselling services, and the National Police Service Commission has established a unit and staffed it to attend to their demanding situation.
The counselling unit, among other things, evaluates, designs and leads an outreach programme that helps prevent mental health and substance abuse.
Officials say police are generally on the receiving end of all community problems.
They are expected to maintain law and order in very difficult situations, besides putting their lives at risk.
Over the years, a spike in deaths in the service has been linked to trauma.
The government says efforts are being made to address the menace.
