Tragedy struck a camp when a police officer attached to the elite Special Operations Group (SOG) in Lamu East Sub-County died in what authorities are treating as a suspected suicide.
The incident happened on Sunday, June 21, 2026 afternoon, police said.
The motive of the incident was not immediately known.
Fellow officers stationed at the SOG camp in Mararani reported hearing a loud bang, believed to have been a gunshot, at around 11 am from the house of Administration Police Constable (APC) Joseph Ngunjiri.
The officers rushed to his quarters and found him lying lifeless on his bed.
Preliminary findings indicate that the officer is suspected to have shot himself under the chin, with the bullet exiting through the top of his head.
Police processed the scene before the body was airlifted to Manda Base. The officer’s G3 service rifle and one spent cartridge were recovered and handed over to detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Lamu East for further investigations.
Authorities have launched investigations to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
His colleagues said he had not shown signs of stress to warrant the suicide. They described him as a hard-working officer even as they mourned him. SOG has some of the best-trained police officers.
The teams are deployed in the area to, among others, fight terrorism.
This is the latest such incident to happen and affect the police in general. Dozens of police officers die by suicide in a worrying trend.
Police said the trend could be linked to trauma, which is on the rise in
the service at large.
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the service.
Authorities say police are exposed to many forms of trauma that lead
some to suicide in a worrying trend.
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.
Efforts are being made to address the menace which is linked to their work, officials say.
