The National Police Service Commission has asked that officers be paid extra allowances by reason of the adversities they face during this Covid-19 pandemic.
The commission's Chairperson Eliud Kinuthia on Wednesday, April 15 stated that they had kicked off negotiations with the Cabinet Committee on National Development Implementation and Communication (NDICC) and Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to ensure officers are paid extra for the extraneous work during this period.
Kinuthia demanded that the extra allowances be remitted to the officers commencing March 2020, until the country regains normalcy as featured in a report by the Standard on April 15.
He informed that a supplementary budget allocation had been initiated to ensure officers are provided with the necessary equipment to shield them from contracting the virus in the line of duty.
“I appeal to the public and good citizens of Kenya to be law-abiding during this hard period of the Covid- 19 pandemic, and avoid unnecessary confrontation with police officers and not to fabricate untrue allegations against police officers,” Kinuthia stated.
He further claimed that since the commencement of the curfew, he had witnessed incidents in which police had been wrongly accused of offences they did not commit.
Kinuthia alleged that since the start of the curfew and the ban on social gatherings, police officers have been involved in extraneous activities outside of their normal routine duties.
He claimed that the police had been thrown into the dilemma of shielding citizens, enforcing public security, and protecting themselves against contracting the deadly virus.
Kinuthia stated that the police were stepping up at a time when the country could not do without the much-needed security, thus a concern to the commission on allowances provided.
“As the employer, we have a duty to ensure all our employees enjoy a safe work environment, are motivated and are continuously committed to the delivery of services with the utmost exercise of police discipline," Kinuthia pronounced.
He revealed that Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai and his deputies had contributed Ksh 650,000 to the Covid-19 emergency fund, urging other police officers and civilians to follow in the footsteps of the commissioner and contribute.
Kinuthia noted incidents in which officers had taken the law into their own hands and acted inappropriately, warning that dire consequences would follow officers found guilty, as informed earlier by IG Mutyambai.
“The Commission has approved the dismissals and will not hesitate to act on all police officers who conduct themselves unprofessionally at any time," Kinuthia warned.
The petition by the officers follows one by medics to have allowances increased for medical practitioners in the country.
