Detectives on Tuesday grilled nominated MP David Sankok over the alleged suicide of his son.
Memusi Sankok, 15, is said to have shot himself dead using his father’s pistol on Monday afternoon after taking it from a safe in his father’s bedroom.
The team of detectives led by Narok DCI boss Mwenda Ethaiba visited the home of the lawmaker at his Ewaso Nyiro in Narok South and questioned Sankok, his wife, daughter and a worker.
They also recorded statements from workers at Osim Country Lodge, which is barely 100 metres from his residence. The MP owns the lodge.
The detectives also visited the Longisa County Referral Hospital in Bomet county where the body of Memusi was taken.
After four hours of grilling, they visited the scene where the 15-year-old boy reportedly shot himself in the chin.
The boy was a Form 3 student at Kericho High School.
The pistol used by the lawmaker’s son to kill himself has since been confiscated for forensic analysis by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
Officials aware of the developments said the officers also inspected the safe where the Glock pistol was kept before the boy accessed it and used it to shoot himself. SUICIDE Police officers remove the body of Memusi Sankok from his home in Ewaso Nyiro in Narok South subcounty on Monday
Image: KIPLANG’AT KIRUI
Police said they wanted to understand the circumstances under which the incident happened and if they could prefer any charges against the legislator.
“There are claims of negligence but when you look into it you find he used a key to open the bedroom and later the safe where it was. Let us wait to see how it materialises,” said an officer aware of the incident.
Another option would be recommending an inquest into the incident.
A licensed firearm holder is supposed to ensure the safety of the gun.
Sankok is a licensed gun holder.
According to the family, the boy was to return to school last week.
The father, who was out of the country, sent pocket money and cash for shopping.
“He instead disappeared from the home and only returned Sunday. The father also returned home Sunday,” a family friend said.
According to officials, on Monday morning the father summoned the boy for a talk.
The boy reportedly insisted he was tired of school.
But after a lengthy discussion, he gave in and agreed to go back to school on Tuesday accompanied by the father.
“The MP says he then left the homestead and went to his hotel nearby for a political meeting. At around 3 pm, the boy accessed the mother’s handbag and took the keys to the bedroom and the safe. After opening the safe, he took a Glock pistol and shot himself on the chin, with the bullet exiting through the back head,” a police report said.
According to the police report, Memusi was found in a pool of blood with a shotgun beside him.
Speaking to the Star on phone, Mwenda said they are trying to establish what made the boy shoot himself.
“We are currently trying to know what could have triggered the minor to shoot himself and what exactly the MP told the boy during the fateful afternoon argument with him over not going to school,” Mwenda said.
Police say the case will be handled professionally.
The county boss called on Kenyans to be patient as they carried out investigations and once through, the public will know the reason behind his death.
Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri and his Narok East counterpart Ken Aramat, who visited the family, called on Kenyans to stop speculating on the death of the boy.
They asked Kenyans to wait for the police officers to conclude the probe and establish the cause of his death.
The body of the son has been to Umash Funeral home, Narok.
Cases of suicide have been on the rise in the country.
The World Health Organization says such cases are attributed to joblessness, death, academic failure or pressures, and legal and financial difficulties.
Other reasons are bullying, previous suicide attempts, history of suicide in a family, alcoholism and substance misuse, depression and bipolar disorder.
WHO rates suicide as a serious global public health issue that is among the top 20 leading causes of death worldwide.
Globally, close to 800,000 people die of suicide every year with an estimated 78 per cent of cases occurring in low and middle-income countries.
Kenya ranks position 114 among 175 countries in suicide rates
