Mercy Auma
New data released by the police has revealed that at least 483 Kenyans have committed suicide within three months.
In the list, Kiambu County tops with the highest number of people who have taken their lives through different methods.
According to the police data, men are more prone to committing suicide with mainly couples being affected. For instance, between March and June, 409 people are said to have recorded cases of life-threatening assault from different parts of the country.
The worrying trend has also affected the younger generation with the report revealing that the youngest person to have taken their life was aged 9 years. The oldest was aged 76 years.
Consequently, the Kenya National Police Service annual crime report also shows that between 2015 and 2018, 1,442 persons were reported to have attempted suicide.
Read: 28-year-old Migori Mother Tries To Kill Her Four Children Before Committing Suicide
The Central Kenya region is leading with 181 suicide cases. It is closely followed by Rift Valley with 68 cases, Nyanza 67 cases, Nairobi 63 cases, Eastern region 57 cases, Western region 29, Coastal region 14 and North Eastern with 3 cases.
County wise, Kiambu county leads having recorded 109 suicide cases, followed by Murang’a with 37 cases, Kisii 25, Kakamega 24, Nyeri 21, Kisumu 21, Embu 20 Uasin Gishu 18, Nakuru, Makueni and Bomet 17 cases each.
Addressing the same, DCI Boss George Kinoti called on government agencies to initiate a research that will identify the root cause of the problem and find a robust solution for the same.
“We have never recorded such a high number of suicides before and this is not only alarming but calls for urgent remedial measures,” Kinoti told People Daily.
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