David Bera, father to Brian Bera, the university student who was on Monday shot while attempting to forcefully access the State House has opened up on his son's mental status.

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The fifth-year engineering student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) was shot on the shoulder by officers guarding the premises, after refusing to surrender the knife he was brandishing.

Speaking on Citizen TV's News Night show on Tuesday, the student's father said that he did not engage in the crime while of his right senses, having mental problems.

He said that Brian has for some time been having mental issues, a condition that was detected in December 2017.

The father said that student who was allegedly planning the attack for days has also been involved in abnormal activities, including a suicide attempt at a river close to his home.

"The boy has been very sick mentally. On several occasions in the year 2017 when he was at home in December, he could just disappear from home and then we would be informed by some other people that your son was found in the river, he wanted to drown himself," he said.

"The next time we were told he was found in the caves in Mt Elgon, he wanted to disappear inside there. The next time, in February last year, 2018, I was informed that the joy was attempting to climb Mt Kenya in Nyeri," added the father in a tweet by Citizen TV.

The father sent an appeal to President Uhuru Kenyatta to help save his mentally troubled son, terming him a very productive man who can be of great help to the nation if given an opportunity.

According to David, Brian is a very resourceful man who only needs help to bring him back on his feet.

"This young man…my son...can contribute a lot to this nation and to the Kenyan community if he is treated. He is resourceful," noted the father.