‘4 suícide deaths reported daily in Kiambu’ – Police

By , K24 Digital
On Thu, 4 May, 2023 13:30 | 2 mins read
Kiambu County Commander Perminus Kioi (in blue) with Kikuyu OCPD Leonard Kirui displays bhang netted at Kinoo.
Kiambu County Commander Perminus Kioi (in blue) with Kikuyu OCPD Leonard Kirui displays bhang netted at Kinoo. PHOTO/ Clement Kamau

Kiambu County Commander Perminus Kioi has revealed that at least four suicide death cases are reported in the county daily.

He attributed the deaths to drug and substance abuse among the youth and a section of middle-aged locals.

Addressing the media at the Kikuyu Police Station on Wednesday, the Kiambu police boss said that the drug abuse menace in the county will soon become a thing of the past following a major crackdown on drug barons and unlicensed manufacturers of illicit brews.

Drugs netted in Kiambu

Kioi who displayed a haul of bhang and illicit alcohol netted at Kinoo and Kerwa with an estimated value of more than Ksh1 million said that more than five drug dealers have been arrested.

"Let me thank the courts for helping us fight this dragon. Those arrested have been given huge bail terms ahead of their prosecution," he said.

He noted that drugs such as bhang, opioids, sedatives, and alcohol make consumers neglect normal activities.

"After neglecting normal activities, consumers of drugs and illicit alcohol gradually sink into stress then depression and finally death mostly through suicide," he said.

Substance-induced disorders include intoxication, withdrawal, and substance-induced mental disorders such as psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, sleep disorders, sexual dysfunction, delirium, and neurocognitive disorders.

The County Commander said that foreigners who were peddling drugs in parts of  Kiambu, particularly in Ruaka have relocated to Githurai, Mlolongo,  Ngumba Estate and Kimbo.

"We have since arrested 42 foreigners but some have managed to escape and gone into hiding and their days are numbered," he said.

Flanked by Kikuyu  OCPD Leonard Kirui and  CID  boss Peter Ochieng, Kioi at the same time cautioned Kenyans against consuming un-inspected donkey meat being sold by unscrupulous traders.

He said that a donkey meat syndicate whose base is in Ndeiya sub-county will be busted soon. 

"The racket of slaughtering donkeys and selling it to unsuspecting consumers in such places as Burma in Nairobi has been exposed,"  he said.

"The donkeys are transported from as far as  Kericho, Marigat and  Machakos among other places. They  are then slaughtered at Rwacumari area  in Ndeiya  before  being  loaded  into  Toyota  Probox vehicles and taken  to  butcheries and high-end restaurants."

On Wednesday night, close to 30 donkeys were slaughtered and 70 live donkeys were recovered in the area.

Though the butchers managed to escape the meat was set ablaze by police with the help of locals.