Senate Order Govt to Compensate Injured Police Officers

Over 400 officers who have been left without their rightful benefits since 2021 are looking into a hopeful 2025 after the Senate gave fresh orders in their favor.

This is after the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence, and Foreign Relations on Thursday, December 5, mandated the settlement of all compensation claims for police officers injured in the line of duty.

Chaired by Vice Chairperson Senator Karen Nyamu, the Committee directed that all the obstacles delaying the compensation be resolved and a comprehensive report be delivered to them by mid-January 2025 to facilitate the compensation.

“We are giving you up to the third week of January to settle all the claims and appear before this Committee with a clear report,” Vice Chair Karen Nyamu directed.

The Committee convened a meeting with representatives from the National Police Service Commission, the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSH), the Social Health Authority (SHA), and insurance companies to discuss the basis of the compensation delay.

“The discussions focused on the basis for claim rejections, second medical assessments, and the interpretation of contracts relating to the officers’  compensation,” the statement by the committee revealed.

A key issue that was pointed out during the meeting was the legality of requiring second medical assessments by co-insurers despite prior evaluations conducted by DOSH. It emerged during the session that this practice violated existing laws.

Senator George Mbugua, who was present during the meeting, faulted the representatives from SHA for presenting half-baked responses.

“These officers from SHA do not seem to be competent enough because the responses they are giving are very casual. They are simply telling us nothing,” remarked Senator Mbugua, expressing frustration with the authority’s representatives.

On his part, Kajiado Senator Seki Lenku criticised the insurers’ arbitrary procedures which he argued had inflicted unnecessary suffering on police officers.

“Why should these police officers be subjected to a second medical assessment? And why are there issues when the contract clearly states that police officers are on duty throughout?” the Senator questioned.

The directive by the Senate follows weeks of deliberations with various stakeholders to address complaints raised in a July 2024 petition to the Senate by the officers through Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah. The petition detailed concerns over delays and rejections of claims filed by affected officers.

In November, the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) revealed that a total of Ksh709 million was paid to police officers in compensation for injuries sustained in the line of duty during the 2021-2022 period.

This amount was distributed across 937 successful claims out of the 1,756 cases submitted by officers within the service.  

In a report tabled before the Senate, CEO Peter Leley outlined the status of various claims that were still pending including the 422 claims worth Ksh444 million that are still under internal review by SHA.