IG Mutyambai Declares 2,000 Police Officers Unfit To Serve

The IG stated while addressing the Anglican Bishops and Senior Clergy in Westlands, Nairobi on Tuesday, April 19, that the cases were discovered after a thorough medical examination conducted on all police officers across the country. 

"We submitted all of the policemen to medical examinations, and we were surprised to find a large proportion [of mentally unstable cops]. We detained about 2,000 police officers who are unsuitable to do their duties as law enforcement officers," he said

He noted that the officers would undergo therapy sessions before they resume official duties.

"The Police Service has begun the process of resolving some of the issues. It's not easy to dismiss someone from employment [for medical reasons]. The government has procedures in place."

The IG further stated that the investigations revealed a pattern of some police officers absconding from duty by claiming illness.

Mutyambai attributed the rise in cases to a number of issues, including recruitment corruption and a lack of social support.

This comes only days after Interior CS Fred Matiang'i addressed mounting concerns about mental health in the police force, stating that the government would devote more resources to combat the dangerous problem.

The CS, on the other hand, stated that Kenyans as a whole should not take it as an isolated incident, but rather address the problem as a whole.

In the last weeks, several police officers were reported to have committed suicide raising concern about the mental health in the country.