BUSIA, Kenya — A Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officer was on Friday, December 5, found dead in what authorities are treating as a suspected suicide incident in Bukati village, Butula, Busia County.
The deceased, identified as Senior Sergeant Patrick Asala Bwibo, 53, was attached to the Kenya Navy in Mombasa and was off duty at the time of his death.
According to officers who visited the scene, Bwibo died by suicide after he was found hanging from a rope tied in a store within his compound. The motive remains unknown.
The body was moved to a local mortuary pending a post-mortem examination as police and military investigators opened a joint inquiry into the incident.
Security officials say suicide cases within the disciplined forces have been rising despite ongoing interventions, including the establishment of counselling units across various departments. Stress, high-pressure work environments, exposure to trauma, and limited mental-health support have repeatedly been cited as contributing factors.
Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) associates suicide risk with multiple factors, including depression, bipolar disorder, substance misuse, job loss, bereavement, financial distress, legal challenges, bullying, and previous suicide attempts.
Within Kenya, police and soldiers are often “on the receiving end of community problems,” expected to maintain order under high-stress, life-threatening conditions — circumstances experts say can heighten vulnerability to mental-health crises.
In Transmara, Narok County, police are investigating the death of Lawrence Leperes, 35, who collapsed and died inside a local bar on Friday. Witnesses said Leperes had been drinking when he suddenly fell to the floor and became unresponsive. A companion who had been with him fled the scene.
Two bar attendants were detained as detectives probe the circumstances surrounding the death. The body was taken to the mortuary for autopsy.
In Makuyu, Murang’a County, police reported that Wilson Kori Mwaniki, 43, was found dead on the floor of his house on Friday. The cause of death was not immediately known, and the body was moved to the mortuary for a post-mortem examination.
Authorities say investigations into all three fatalities are ongoing.
