‘Depressed’ police officer who went missing from hospital found
A police officer who went missing from Maralal Referral Hospital in Samburu County on Friday 28 April 2023 has been found.
Speaking to Nairobi News, Ms Ruth Cherono, the sister of Ms Hellen Chepkoskei, said her sister arrived at their home in Nandi County on Wednesday morning, May 3, 2023.
“My sister has just been found, she says she walked all the way from Maralal to our house,” said Ms Cherono.
Nairobi News exclusively reported that Ms Cherono was taken to the medical facility by a colleague who noticed she was agitated and appeared depressed.
Police in the area also launched a search and appealed to the public to help find her.
The increasing number of cases of police officers with mental health problems has in the past caused concern among their superiors.
Also read: ‘Depressed’ police officer goes missing at Maralal Referral Hospital
In the past, the National Police Service (NPS) has said that a third of police officers in the country are heavy drinkers.
It has also said that many officers of all ranks are also servicing loans that leave them with less than a third of their monthly salaries, forcing them to resort to corrupt practices to make ends meet.
According to a recent survey by the National Police Service, at least 12,000 police officers are facing mental health problems due to work-related issues.
This means that between 12 and 13 percent of police officers have mental health problems.
There are 110,000 police officers in the country. NPSC chief executive Joseph Onyango said the figures reflected a global trend.
“The mental health cases from the recent assessment is almost trending towards the figure of 12 to 13 percent of the total population of officers. It’s trending towards the global figures,” Onyango said.
He said they were focusing on dealing with the menace, which is taking a toll on officers’ performance and is increasing.
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