Alarm as 483 Kenyans Commit Suicide in Three Months

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has raised concerns over the high number of suicide cases in the country.

Police data reveals that at least 483 Kenyans took their own life between March and June this year, with Kiambu County recording the highest number.

Speaking on Monday, DCI director George Kinoti urged the government to commission research to establish the cause of the worrying trend.

“We have never recorded such a high number of suicides before and this is not only alarming but calls for urgent remedial measures,” said Kinoti.

DCI records show that 409 cases of life-threatening assaults, mostly among couples, were reported in the three months.

The youngest person reported to have committed suicide during the period was nine years while the oldest was 76 years old.

The figures represent a sharp increase compared to a total of 196 suicide cases reported in the whole country in 2019.

The report compiled by the Department of Operations at DCI between March and June names Central Kenya as the leading region in the number of suicides. 181 suicide cases were reported in the region during the period, with Kiambu County accounting for 109 of the cases.

Rift Valley comes second with 68 suicide cases followed by Nyanza (67), Nairobi (63), Eastern (57), Western (29), Coast (14), and North Eastern (3).

In the counties, Kiambu led with 109 suicide cases followed by Murang’a (37), Kisii (25), Kakamega (24), Nyeri (21), Kisumu (21), Embu (20) Uasin Gishu (18) while Nakuru, Makueni, and Bomet recorded 17 cases each.