Detectives based in Uasin Gishu County are investigating an incident in which a fellow officer committed suicide by setting his house ablaze.
The officer is said to have first locked himself up inside the house in Emkoin village, Turbo sub-county, before setting up the house ablaze.
Neighbours who responded to the Saturday morning tragedy say, they were alarmed by billowing smoke coming from the victim’s house, but it was a johnny-come-lately to the scene.
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One of the neighbours who was the first person to arrive at the scene said that Inspector Sammy Chirchir’s last born son came to her house at around 10:00 am to inform her that his father had lit mattresses in their house to drive off bees.
“When I came over to inquire, I found the entire house on fire and when Chirchir noticed me, he started shouting that we leave him alone. He was moving around the house saying he was not in need of any help,” the distraught neighbour said.
It took the intervention of Uasin Gishu fire brigade team to put off the fire before police arrived to collect the remains of their late colleague that were taken to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) mortuary.
“We tried our best to break into the house, but the fire was intense, and before he collapsed in the blaze he kept shouting that we leave his compound to let him die in peace,” another neighbour at the scene said.
Chirchir’s wife and his firstborn son had joined their church members for a video shoot, leaving him at home, before the tragedy struck a few hours later.
Some neighbours reckoned that Chirchir had exhibited excessive drinking behaviour in the recent past.
The father of two was based in Lodwar and had previously worked at Huruma in Eldoret before his transfer to Turkana County.
Turbo sub-county Police Commander Edward Masibo confirmed the victim was a police officer but added that circumstances surrounding the officer’s suicide are still sketchy as investigation begins.
"The victim in question is a police officer and was formerly based here in Uasin Gishu before he was deployed to Turkana. We have launched our investigation to find out what might have prompted his suicide, but at the moment we have no conclusive information regarding the incident," Masibo said.
