Senior cop ‘commits suicide’ on his way to vetting
A senior police officer died under mysterious circumstances after he allegedly jumped out of a moving vehicle along the Kitale-Kapenguria road on his way to meet the police vetting panel in Nairobi.
Preliminary reports indicate that the Turkana North OCPD Baraza Wabomba, who was travelling to Nairobi last Saturday for the vetting process, could have committed suicide or was intoxicated.
Mr Baraza, who was early this year transferred from Starehe in Nairobi as the OCPD to Turkana North in the same capacity, was travelling from Lodwar to Kitale in a private car.
On reaching Morpus, he is said to have opened the door and jumped out of the car.
The driver, Mr Isaa Kiara Wamwere, told the police that he was in a Toyota double cabin Pick-up from Lodwar with the deceased and three other passengers.
“He was on the rear right seat. He opened the door and jumped outside when the vehicle was in motion and fell on the road,” Mr Wamwere said in his statement to the police.
INVESTIGATIONS
The driver stopped the car and took him to Kapenguria Hospital where he died while undergoing treatment. It was at the hospital that they identified him as Mr Baraza, a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).
The Kenya Police spokesperson Zipporah Mboroki said that police detained the vehicle at the Kapenguria station and that investigations on the incident have began.
The deceased officer appeared disturbed before he was transferred to from Nairobi.
“He had issues that affected his performance as the OCPD Starehe. Police headquarters instead decided to transfer him to Turkana,” said a close colleague who sought anonymity.
In February this year, Mandera East OCPD Ekai Maruk and his driver also died in a grisly accident about 8 kilometers from Garissa town.
His driver, Abdi Noor, succumbed to his injuries as he was being treated at the Garissa Referral Hospital. He was among nine casualties rushed to the hospital.
The accident occurred after the driver’s attempts to negotiate a sharp corner failed. The vehicle veered off the road and hit a road side gulley.