Police in hotspots plead for hardship allowance

A section of police officers at Kabarnet show ground in Baringo County before they were dispatched to various places affected by insecurity in the county on February 28,2017. [PHOTO:KIPSANG JOSEPH]

More than 500 police officers deployed in parts of Samburu, Laikipia and Baringo Counties have accused the Government of failing to pay them hardship allowance.

The officers were deployed to the counties in April this year. Since then, there is no clear communication from relevant authorities on when they should expect their pay.

An officer in Baragoi, Samburu County, who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity said most of the affected officers were Administration Police officers, who are moved after three months of service to allegedly stem discontent.

“We are demoralised because we have not received our pay for several months and it is not clear on when we shall be paid. It is unfortunate that our AP counterparts are sent away after three months to prevent them from demanding for the pay,” said one police officer.

Before deployment, he said, each officer expected to receive Sh5,000 monthly hardship allowance, which had since not been remitted.

According to the officer, the money was remitted from police headquarters in Nairobi but the officers were yet to be paid.

“Our pay is said to have been confirmed and money released but to our surprise we have not received the money and nobody is willing to formally share information with us on the same,” he said.

The officer claimed there was discrimination in payment of the allowances since regular police, the General Service Unit (GSU) and Kenya Defence Forces had been paid.

“We are surprised that APs have not received their hardship allowances and this is affecting smooth operations,” said the officer.

Officers residing in various camps have also not received uniform allowances.

Uniform allowances

“There is a lot of frustration because our welfare is not being considered. For instance, we have not received uniform allowances and nobody is talking about this apart from directing us to restore order in hostile areas,” he said.

The officers said accessing medical help during the operation was also a problem because of lack of transport.

They depend on voluntary medics and nurses from the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF).

Vehicles assigned for the operation are said to be used by senior officers to run personal errands. But Baringo AP commandant Robinson Ndiwa dismissed claims raised by the officers and said they were paid their hardship allowance two weeks ago.

Mr Ndiwa said not all officers in the operation received pay because some were operating within their work stations and as such did not qualify for the allowances.

Hardship allowance, according to the AP commandant, is not a guarantee because they are paid monthly salaries and are also supplied with food, among other items.

“All APs conducting operations in Samburu, Laikipia and Baringo have received their pay apart from those who are in their work stations. The operation is part of their assignment because they are paid by the Government and given food,” said Ndiwa.

The allowances, he said, were given as a token of appreciation by Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet to boost the officer’s morale.

He said the operation in Baragoi and Baringo had been going on since 2013 after increased incidents of insecurity. “Money for allowances is not wired into officers' accounts monthly but when funds are allocated by the IG,” said Ndiwa.