DP Ruto's communication team officer commits suicide 

Noose, Suicide
noose
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • The body of the deceased was retrieved from the dam on Friday afternoon.
  • The DP’s director of communication Emmanuel Tallam confirmed to the Nation that the deceased was a prison warden.

An officer attached to Deputy President William Ruto’s communication team has committed suicide under unclear circumstances.

David Too, 51, is said to have plunged himself into Ngeria dam on Friday, an incident that caught family members and relatives by surprise.

According to family members, the deceased was attached to the DP’s security detail for several years.

It is said he came home on December 29, 2020 for a family meeting before he drowned himself at the dam three days later.

Details about the incident remain scanty although his elder brother Aaron Sing’oei said the deceased arrived home with a camera which was later stolen after unknown people broke into his house the same day he arrived home.

“The deceased who has been working with DP Ruto’s security team came home on Tuesday because that day we had a family meeting. He had a camera which was stolen and he reported the matter to the police. It is unfortunate that he took his life," said Mr Sing’oei.

Suicide note

“He called me in the morning at 8:57am and told me that he was under pressure. He then hang up. When I called back and he did not answer. I only discovered later that he had taken his life," Sing’oei said.

The content of the stolen camera are yet to be established.

The body of the deceased was retrieved from the dam on Friday afternoon.

Police said investigations into the matter have been launched. The police however said the deceased did not leave behind a suicide note.

“Investigations are on going. I was present when the body was retrieved from the dam and no suicide note was found," said Uasin Gishu boss police Ayub Ali.

The DP’s director of communication Emmanuel Tallam confirmed to the Nation that the deceased was a prison warden who was under the press unit.

“The deceased was not in the DP's security team but was a prison officer working as a driver in our communication team,” said Mr Tallam.

Mr Too’s death comes barely a year after Sergeant Kipyegon Kenei, an officer attached to the Deputy President's office, who was believed to have been a key witness in the fake Sh39 billion arms deal, died mysteriously.