Fred Matiang’i: Kabete police officer killed 6 in love triangle rage

Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Fred Matiang’i says Kabete police officer Benson Imbatu, who killed five civilians on Tuesday morning, was provoked by a love triangle involving his girlfriend.

Imbatu’s girlfriend, identified only as Carol, was among the five killed.

Speaking at the Administration Police Training College (APTC) in Embakasi, Nairobi, during the commemoration of deceased police officers and prison warders, Matiang’i said mental health issues among uniformed officers was a concern to the government, and that action was being taken.

“The Government is saddened by the Kabete incident, involving a police officer, that left six people dead. We are sending our condolences to the affected families. Preliminary investigations suggest the incident may have been triggered by a love triangle gone awry,” the minister said on Tuesday.

“The public is urged to refrain from trivialising or politicising the matter, especially on social media,” he added.

The CS said mental health challenges were present in the police service, the same way they are found in other professions or parts of society.

To manage the situation, Matiang’i said the Government, in collaboration with the National Police Service and the Prison Service, has enhanced counselling and medical attention for officers in need of help.

“There is a deliberate drive to destigmatise mental health and stress, and to actively reach out to potential cases,” he said.

At 1 am Tuesday, Benson Imbatu shot his girlfriend, Carol, in the neck after suspecting that she was unfaithful, Dagoretti Sub-County Police Commander Francis Wahome told The Standard.

While fleeing the scene in Kangemi, he haphazardly shot and killed four other people, including two Boda Boda riders, police said.

Imbatu, thereafter, turned the firearm on himself, and fatally fired a bullet in his neck.

Bodies of the six, who died in the murder-suicide, were taken to City Mortuary as investigations continue.