Mourners eulogise officer who shot and killed herself at JKIA

A police officer who was found dead in a washroom at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JIKA) a week ago was sociable and worked hard, according to her colleagues.

Ms Caudencia Wausi, who was a police corporal serving at the Kenya Airport Police Unit, was laid to rest on Saturday in a sombre ceremony at her father's home in Wikililye Village, Kibwezi East Sub-County, Makueni County.

Colleagues from the National Police Service and the General Service Training School, who attended the burial ceremony, eulogised the cop as an officer who was dedicated to her duty.

"She was not only a hard worker but also a very sociable officer,” said Mr Hillary Odiwuor, a police officer who led Ms Wausi's college mates to the burial.

He said that he learned about her death on social media.

Another police officer, Ms Mercy Ngaira, said: "We served together at GSU Training School at Embakasi and we interacted closely.

“When I was on night beats, she would take care of my son.

“There is a day my son was taken ill while I was away and she called asking where I had kept the hospital insurance documents, and she took him to hospital."

Their sentiments were echoed by her relatives who termed the departed woman as the light of the family and the region.

BROUGHT FAMILY TOGETHER

A cousin told the mourners that Ms Wausi brought the extended family together through a WhatsApp group where over 70 relatives who were previously scattered would interact closely.

Before she was posted to JKIA, Ms Wausi served as an instructor at the GSU Training School.

Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana, who attended the burial, said that her quick rise in the police ranks "and her having worked at the sensitive international airport at a time when the country was reeling from terrorism threats" was a pointer to Ms Wausi discipline and hard work.

On the morning of August 24, Ms Wausi's lifeless body was found in a washroom at her workstation and this sparked speculation that the mother of one could have taken her life.

According to the police, a pistol lay beside her body.

FACEBOOK POST

A Facebook message that Ms Wausi posted hours before she took her death featured prominently at the funeral ceremony with Mr Odiwuor terming as unfortunate the possibility of the police officer taking her life.

At the burial, where Ms Wausi was honoured with the traditional 21 gun salute, police officers said that her death got them by surprise.

Her mother, Francisca Kalekye, wept uncontrollably, insisting that her daughter must have been killed.

"As a family, we need to know the truth, we need to know who killed Wausi," she said.

Prof Kibwana urged the government to speed up the inquest on the officer’s death so as to calm the family and stop speculations.

Ms Wausi is survived by her eight year old son Brian Nzambia.