Uhuru Orders Probe into Status of Mental Health among Kenyans

President Kenyatta on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the status of mental health in the country.

Kenyatta directed the Ministry of Health to constitute a taskforce to look into the matter during a Cabinet meeting held at State House, Nairobi.

The team will be required to establish the status of mental health among Kenyans and come up with policies to address the problem within 90 days.

“The President directed the Ministry of Health to establish a taskforce on the status of mental health in the country and come up with new policies needed to address the growing concerns about mental health among Kenyans.”

“The findings of the taskforce which will be discussed in Cabinet within 90 days will assist the government in the allocation of resources to mental health,” State House said in a statement.

The President’s directive comes amid increased cases of homicide in the country, which experts have linked to mental health issues among Kenyans.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said he will convene a meeting with non-state actors and government agencies to address the issue of killings.

 “What we are witnessing is not normal.  I feel the responsibility of it as a leader. We can’t live this way where we are butchering our wives and murdering children in an unprecedented manner. There is nothing that justifies this. There is nothing cultural about this. It is something we have to deal with urgently,” said CS Matiang’i.

On Thursday, the Cabinet also approved the elevation of Nairobi’s Mathari Hospital to a Level IV facility.

“The Cabinet approved the establishment of Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital and the designation of Gilgil Hospital as a satellite mental health facility of Mathari,” State House added.