Africa-Press – Kenya. Inspector General of Police, Hillary Mutyambai has intervened and issued a directive on the case where a junior police officer accused a female Permanent Secretary (PS) of harassing and frustrating him at work.
Mutyambai, on Monday, August 2, engaged the Deputy Inspector General at the Administration Police Service, Noor Gabow and asked him to investigate the case.
The department of guidance and counselling was further guided to reach out to such officers and assist them appropriately after depression and suicide cases surged in the National Police Service (NPS).
“We have Counsellors and Psychologists within the Service, who are doing routine counselling sessions. I also encourage officers to speak out.
“Various Commanders in the Service have also been taken through Psycho-social training,” Mutyambai detailed progress made in assisting police cope with mental health.
The anonymous junior officer – reportedly attached to the Security of Government Buildings (SGB) Uhuru camp in Nairobi – sent a confidential message to activist Boniface Mwangi alleging that his life turned topsy-turvy after he was posted to be the said PS’s aide.
In the message, he further claimed that he had sought his bosses’ audience, but was rebuffed.
An excerpt of the note read:
Life here is horrible and it is better to be in hell. I am a father and my family relies on me. Depression is killing me slowly and I have nowhere to turn to. It is not my mistake becoming a police officer having been brought up by my single dad.
Life was difficult until we secured a position here (in the NPS) and I got employed. This PS insults us every day and we have tried to communicate with our bosses who have the mandate of attaching us but it gets to deaf ears.
Where she forces us to relax is pathetic and we always contract diseases. It is not our mistake that we are working as police and we have no one to listen to our pleas.
We are not listened to anytime we complain. I am depressed. Help.
