Nairobi News

HashtagHustle

Why police officers are questioning ‘unknown’ earnings on their payslips

By Amina Wako November 18th, 2019 3 min read

There is disquiet in the police service over incomplete payment of officers for their work during the National Population and Housing Census execise in August.

Officers who spoke to the Nairobi News in confidence said that they were shocked to receive the money which at the beginning they didn’t understand what it was meant for as it was only categorized as unknown/unresolved earnings on their pay slips.

EARNINGS

The officers said after consulting they were informed that the Sh4,500 in that category was only paid to those who participated in the enumeration exercise.

“The money is not even half what we were supposed to be paid. If the money is meant for the enumeration exercise then somebody somewhere is stealing from us,” said one officer.

In a set of census guidelines that were issued by the Kenya National Bureau of Standards (KNBS), police officers were to be picked to offer security during the training of enumerators.

Each training center was supposed to have two police officers who were supposed to be paid Sh2,500 daily for a period of seven days.

“Security during the training of enumerators, two officers per venue at the rate of Sh2,500 for 7 days, total amount Sh17,500,” read a document from KNBS.

It is however no clear if the daily rate of Sh 2,500 was meant to be divided among the two officers.

Besides, the officers were to be paid Sh2,500 for a maximum of two days for offering security during the transportation of materials.

UNKNOWN PAY

“Security during transit of material from county to training venues, Sh2,500 for a maximum of two days,” the document reads in part.

An officer’s pays slip issued on Friday and seen by the Nairobi News shows that the officers who were on duty during the enumeration period were paid Sh4,500.

An officer who spoke in confidence said that some people were trying to do something sinister. They do not understand what the Sh 4,500 on their pay slips is meant for but they believe it’s the payment for the enumeration process.

“The government has never paid us an excess of even one shilling and the only money we are expecting from them is the census money,” said an officer.

The officer said that by categorizing the pay as unknown then someone somewhere was playing with their minds.

“Since when did someone get to pay for something unknown, those who came up with that category should come out clean and tell us what the money is meant for. Otherwise, there is nothing like unknown pay,” said another officer.

The officers most of the time senior officers end up taking all the money they earn from such extra assignments.

EXTRA ASSIGNMENT

“During the last elections we still had the same problem and some officers have never been paid to date, now we have an issue with the enumeration process which ended recently. Things are not being done in the right way,” said the officer.

The Nairobi News can authoritatively confirm that the Kenya Prisons Service team that helped with security during the enumeration exercise has also not been paid.

“The officers from the correctional department were only asked to write their names and service numbers. They are still waiting for payment,” said an officer.

According to Kenya Prisons Service spokesman, Dickson Mwakazi, the prisons team which was on duty during the enumeration exercise was under the command of the Kenya Police Service and the allowances they were meant to receive was to come from the police side.

He however could not comment on whether the officers from Kenya Prisons have been paid or not.

“So far there is no complain from our officers on that matter,” Mwakazi said.

The Nairobi News contacted police spokesperson Charles Owino and Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai who neither answered our calls nor responded to our text messages.