Karanja Kibicho lambasts Kenya Kwanza politicians over claims on police salaries

Interior PS Karanja Kibicho has blasted a section of leaders from Kenya Kwanza coalition for making what he termed incorrect claims on police salaries while also criticising their new-look uniforms.

Kibicho accused the Kenya Kwanza politicians of being insincere in a futile attempt to bag votes yet there was nothing they had done to improve the wellbeing of the same officers. 

“You have heard these honey-tongued politicians telling barefaced lies that we have done nothing to improve the wellbeing of our police officers. They know that they are insincere and are only trying to pander to the interests of the voters in a desperate attempt to gain support,” he said. 

Kibicho revealed that police constables now earn a gross salary of Sh45,500 up from Sh25,800 in 2012 while those in the rank of Inspector are paid around Sh83,000 up from Sh50,000 ten years ago. 

Commissioners have also received a progressive pay rise from Sh146,700 in 2012 to the current Sh175,400. 

The PS cited improvements in the police health and medical cover that he said had risen to Sh5.3 billion annual comprehensive medical cover while Sh4.8 billion has been set aside for group life insurance cover while a new specialised hospital for the officers has also been constructed in Mbagathi, Nairobi.  

“Kenya has witnessed great many firsts in the last ten years. The level of support towards capacity-building and addressing the welfare of our officers has been profound. We have even built state-of-the-art hospitals for them and our plan to provide them with decent accommodation and housing allowances is a work in progress,” the PS said.

Kibicho also said the level of confidence among police officers has increased as well as their capacity to perform their duties better since President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure as he invested more in equipment and weaponry for the force.

The PS also revealed that the entry-level salary for assistant chiefs had been raised and supplemented by other field service allowances to facilitate their operations and their offices have been given the Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) amounting to Sh60,000 per year.

Kibicho said the lies being peddled by a section of politicians are annoying to Kenyans.

“These lies are very annoying to Kenyans. These officers have opened their job mobility and can now rise from Job Group F to Job Group N naturally without being interviewed. And this means their salaries are increased relative to their years of service,” Kibicho said.

According to Kibicho, salary increment has been implemented across the NGAOs structure, all the way up to the Regional Commissioners. 

The PS reiterated that he will leave office a happy man having set a solid foundation for a greater impact in the security sector and subsequent reforms by his successor.