Ex-GSU Soldier Wants To Rejoin The Force After A 19-Year Hiatus
A former General Service Unit (GSU) officer is looking to rejoin the National Police Service (NPS) after battling depression for 19 years.
Mbuti Lekapua left the force after the sudden deaths of four close relatives in 2005.
He claims that the mental toll of the losses was too much for him to bear, and that, while time has helped him learn to cope, he still requires the service for healing and survival.
He joined the service in 1990 and served the country for ten years before switching to the police force in 2003.
His time in the police service was cut short two years later, in 2005, when he lost three family members at once, including his wife. He became a depressed man.
“In 2005, my father died, my mother died, my brother died, and I came to bury them,” he said.
“Then my wife died while I was burying the others. The stress became overwhelming, and I couldn’t return to work. No one from the government has followed up with me, and I haven’t committed any wrongdoing.”
His neighbour Rebecca Lesoka said: ”This man is my neighbour, and we have lived together for a very long time. He has been going through a very tough time because, consecutively, he has lost many people.”
Pictures of Lekapua in his GSU regalia depict an able man before he fell into depression; they are what gives him hope for a better future.
His family claims that depression has taken a toll on him, pulling back a man who once had a bright future and carried the hopes of his family and community.
His friend Christopher Lemaletian said: “He avoids groups of people and stays by himself.
“So I would ask the government to take him back and first provide him with counseling due to the severe depression he has suffered from being shot and losing all his parents and his wife. The government should help him get back to work.”
Lekapua’s brother Lemakara Benard noted: “The government should follow up with people like him because it’s not intentional for someone like him to stay here.
“Even as his brothers, we see that he has been confused since those deaths occurred. Now, it’s like he is lost; he just stays here with nothing to do, just chewing tobacco. His livestock are gone.”
As Lekapua battles depression, he faces the difficult task of providing for his young family, who look up to him, after losing his livestock to bandits.
He is now appealing to the National Police Service Commission for pardon and reinstate him.
“The government should reinstate me to work so I can take care of my children. I have had a very tough life since 2005 until now,” he added.
Lekapua is now involved in small-scale tobacco farming, primarily for consumption by his pastoralist peers.
Ex-GSU Soldier Wants To Rejoin The Force After A 19-Year Hiatus
