Jackson Kihara, who used to be a Kenya Prisons officer and is now an activist, often called Cop Shakur, has shared his experience of hitting rock bottom a few months after losing his job.
On Saturday, Shakur took to Instagram to share that he’s in debt and has already had his property auctioned. He gained popularity for backing the Gen Z protesters back in June and July 2025.
He stressed that his current situation had nothing to do with leaving his job since he had already figured out how to manage things after he left.
I’m really feeling down right now. I feel like I’ve lost it all. I’m dealing with a lot right now. I’m in debt, I’ve been auctioned off, there’s an arrest warrant out for me, and I’m struggling to pay my bills or take care of my daughter. “I’ve been doing my best to stay strong, but things have been pretty tough,” the statement said in part.
“After losing my job unfairly due to my activism, something I’ll always stand by, I had actually set myself up pretty well.” ” What I’m dealing with right now isn’t related to losing that job at all. Things really took a turn for the worse later because of the businesses I invested in.”
He shared how his financial troubles started after a gig in December didn’t go as planned, leaving him with over Ksh1 million in debt.
Shakur, who was running his car hire business and organising events, mentioned that the rain totally messed up an event he had planned for December 2024. Not long after that, his cars began to have accidents and break down.
He opened up about his money troubles but also shared that he was dealing with some emotional pain from personal issues, like his wife supposedly cheating on him with his best friend.
“I started having mental health struggles after my ex-wife cheated on me with my best friend, and it all happened on my own bed. “I found them!” That moment totally broke me,” he said.
“I can’t really blame her, since I wasn’t there for her.” “I’m owning up to my role in how everything went south.”
The former cop, hitting a really low point, opened up about how he had thought about ending his life and even tried a few different ways to do it, but none of them worked out.
” There was a time when I felt really hopeless, and I actually tried to take my own life more than once. I took pills, attempted to suffocate myself, and even tried hanging, but somehow, I always ended up waking up.” “Maybe God just wasn’t done with me yet,” he said.
The ex-officer has found himself in trouble a few times since he was suspended back in July 2024 due to anti-government protests, and he’s still dealing with arrest warrants and ongoing court cases.
Before he was let go, it seems he went through a bunch of disciplinary measures, like being moved around to tough spots, getting suspended, and facing interdiction.
So, a little over a month back, on August 26, he shared that he was leaving the Fighting Brutality and Impunity (FBI) group. This group is made up of former security officials, and he had only been with them for about a month before making this decision.
