A few days before General Services Unit officer Hudson Wakise shot dead his wife Pauline before turning the gun on himself, he posted a cryptic message on his WhatsApp status.
Friends and relatives now say the message was a window into Wakise’ soul, and whatever pain he was going through:
Even when the worst possible things happens (SIC), God’s love is still greater and he will give you the strength to face it. Fear is not the end of the story, its the beginning of one. When the word of God shows up in a desperate situation, it doesn’t matter how dead it seems. God says live.
The message ended with emojis of two doves (the universal symbol of peace), and hands clasped together in prayer.
God says live. But living is what Wakise didn’t. On that fateful night, he whipped his pistol and shot Pauline seven times in the chest, killing her instantly. Ditto the Jericho pistol on himself. “He also died instantly,” says a police report at Ruaraka Police Station under O/B number 40/6/4/2021.
Even when the worst possible things happens (SIC), God’s love is still greater and he will give you the strength to face it.
So, what was happening -or happened- in Wakise’s life that triggered such an abrupt end to what was an otherwise blissful marriage?
Wakise, 33, belonged to the elite Recce Squad. They are Kenya’s toppermost of the poppermost, and are assigned security duties that require both brain and brawn: VIP protection, terrorism rescue, marksmanship, e.t.c. Wakise ticked all these boxes. He was attached to Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i’s security. In January, 2019, he was among the paramilitary officers that rescued victims of the Dusit D2 complex terror attack.
“Since his involvement in the attack, there was a notable increase in his alcohol consumption,” one of his wife’s relatives is quoted as saying. “His relationship with his wife also suffered, forcing us to intervene to reconcile them on several occasions.”
When the word of God shows up in a desperate situation, it doesn’t matter how dead it seems.
And the situation was becoming desperate. Pauline, 29, was a traffic cop in Kilimani. The couple lived at the GSU Camp in Ruaraka. When their relationship went south on allegations of infidelity and alcoholism, Pauline moved from the camp and rented a house behind Naivas Supermarket, Ruaraka. She wanted to start a new life, and took along her two daughters.
It was when Wakise came visiting one evening that a bitter exchange of words ensued over the husband’s alleged infidelity. The exchange saw irate Wakise dash out of the house and return with a pistol. It was about 8:20pm. He fired at least seven times into his wife’s chest, before shooting himself through the chin, the bullet exiting through the head. Both died instantly.
At the scene, police recovered the Jericho pistol, nine spent catridges, and two magazines with 15 rounds of ammunition. They moved the bodies to Kenyatta University Funeral Home. The couple’s children were unhurt in the incident.