Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has revealed that security officers who die in the line of duty are entitled to compensation amounting to millions, which is paid to their beneficiaries.
Speaking before the Senate on Wednesday October 10, Duale was responding to questions fronted by Senate on the welfare of Kenya’s security forces and the challenges they face while serving.
Duale explained the terms of compensation which vary depending on the place of service.
“…within thirty days … if the officer is serving within our country immediately gets Kshs 4 million above pension which has a component called death gratuity,” said Duale.
Death gratuity is a lump-sum amount paid to dependants or beneficiaries of an officer who is killed while on duty.
For an officer deployed outside the country, CS Duale explained that “…apart from the Kshs 4 million, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) give that family USD 50,000.” This translates to more than Kshs 11 million.
However, Duale noted that at times the beneficiaries of the officers may fail to get the compensation due to family wrangles.
“…we get few cases where because of the family dispute the money becomes not accessible,” said Duale.
He also said that the security officers are accorded decent burials.
Kenya is preparing to deploy security officers to Haiti in January 2024 amid controversy surrounding Kenya’s involvement with the peace keeping mission.
The UN Security Council, on Monday October 2, voted to approve the deployment of Kenya’s security officers to Haiti, in the mission sponsored by the USA.
Haiti has been plagued by violence with gangs controlling most of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Thousands of Haitians have been displaced from their homes, amidst kidnappings and sexual violence attacks.
Violence plagued the nation after president Jovenel Moise was killed in 2021. The Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, who took over appealed to the international community to help restore peace.
