Maraga team receives salary increase proposal from NPS

The lowest paid police officer should earn Sh36,550, up from the current Sh20,390, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) proposed yesterday.

Led by NPSC chairman Eliud Kinuthia (pictured),  the team appeared before the former Chief Justice David Maraga-led National Taskforce on the Improvement of Terms and Conditions of Police and Prison Officers has also recommended that the officers’ leave allowance should be equivalent to a one month’s salary.

 NPS also recommended that Inspector be paid Sh57,060 up from Sh42,940 while Senior Sergeants’ salaries be increased from Sh40,270 to Sh53,570, Sergeant Sh36,450 to Sh47,290, Corporal from Sh26,500 to 40,270, and Constable from Sh20,390 to Sh36,450.

Gender responsive

However, the team did not propose salary increases for the IG and his deputies.

The IG and DIGs currently earn Sh765, 188 and Sh621, 250 respectively. It however is proposed that Senior Assistant Inspector General (SAIG) salary be increased from Sh189, 640 to Sh230, 170; AIG from Sh151, 550 to Sh208, 830, Commissioner of Police (CP) from Sh103, 360 to Sh189, 640, while Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) from Sh68, 720 to Sh151, 550.

It further proposed that SP’s salary be increased from Sh57, 060 to Sh131,550, Assistant SP from Sh53, 570 to Sh103, 360 and Chief Inspector from Sh47,290 to Sh68,720.

“Currently members of the Service are paid a leave allowance of between Sh 4,000 to Sh10,000 based on ranks. The Commission recommends payment of leave allowance once a year at the rate of one-month basic salary,” the commission said.

They noted that the police uniform was not gender-responsive to women police officers during pregnancy and it was not provided for under the current uniform arrangement. The Commission recommended a maternity dress allowance of Sh 30,000 during pregnancy

The police employer also wants the position of the Inspector General of police be rotational among three units of Kenya Police, Administration Police and Directorate of Criminal Investigations, like is the case with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).

“The best practice from other security organs such as KDF which are structured as NPS is such that the top command is rotational by service commanders,” Kinuthia said.

He added that in the NPS, practice of rotational IG from among the KPS, APS and DCI service commanders has not been applicable to the advantage of KPS having produced the current and past IGs.

Rotational headship

“The commission recommends a policy on rotational headship and rise to the top command of the IG- NPS from among the constituent service of NPS,” he added.

Rotation system is used in the military where Kenya Army, Kenya Air Force and Kenya Navy produce a General at a time.

“The President is the one who appoints the IG. We recommend that the Parliament propose names, they should consider the services and the background,” Kinuthia said.

NPSC recommended to the taskforce that officers injured in the line of duty and cannot perform their duties be retired and given a decent package, and all offered be considered for post-retirement medical cover like in the case of the KDF and the National Intelligence Service (NIS).

The commission wants police to revert to the old police uniform for general duty officers and not the deep blue that was introduced in 2019.

The police employer also proposed that officers should serve in a duty station for a continuous period of at least one year and a maximum period of three years before they can be transferred.

“Transfers shall be made between the last week of November and the third week of December every year except in exceptional circumstances as approved by the Commission. To ensure transfers are fair and just, there is need to automate officer’s records to effectively track the transfers,” it was recommended.

The commission also said transfer allowance amounting to one month of a police officer’s basic salary shall be paid to an officer transferred from one station to another immediately prior to his or her departure to the new station.

Marine Police Unit

Kinuthia’s team also proposed that the Marine Police Unit be reverted to the NPS from the Military’s Kenya Coast Guard Services (KCGS) for it to be effective.

It supported Independent Policing Oversight Authority’s position that the Police Airwing should revert to police from the current National Air Support Department (NASD).

Also, it noted that the Airwing is currently grounded due to dispossession of helicopters and fixed aircraft from the NPS to the NASD in September 2020.