“Even when the worst happens, God’s love is still greater”- Bodyguard’s final message

A few days before General Services Unit officer Hudson Wakise shot dead his wife Pauline and turned 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, harmony), 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 filed 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? What drained the strength?

Wakise, 33, belonged to the elite Recce Squad paramilitary unit. They are Kenya’s toppermost of the poppermost, and are assigned security duties that require both brain and brawn: VIP protection, anti-terrorism rescue, marksmanship, e.t.c. Wakise ticked all these boxes. He was attached to Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i’s security detail. In January, 2019, he was among the select officers who 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 Pauline’s relatives is quoted as saying. “His relationship with his wife also suffered, forcing us to intervene to reconcile them on several occasions.” The reconciliation efforts bore fruit, sometimes. But not when it mattered most.

When the word of God shows up in a desperate situation, it doesn’t matter how dead it seems.

And the situation between the two became desperate. Pauline, 29, was a traffic cop in Kilimani. The couple lived at the GSU Camp in Ruaraka. When their relationship was pushed to the gutters by allegations of infidelity and alcoholism, Pauline moved from the camp and rented a house behind Naivas Supermarket, Ruaraka. She wanted space to breathe and took along her two daughters.

It was when Wakise came visiting one evening that a bitter exchange of words ensued. Course? 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 turning the gun on himself: Two bullets through the chin, one exiting through the head. He too 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.

The family is now left with more questions than answers, wondering if they is anything more they could have done to stop the tragedy.

Yesterday, CS Matiang’i said the tragedy “is a rude awakening to psychosocial challenges amongst some of our young officers that we have no choice but to now pay greater attention to.” He is right. For as Wakise had said in his message, God says live.