Families of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers who died while serving in the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amison) received compensation amounting to more than Sh4million, the State has disclosed.
However, Defence Principal Secretary Monica Juma did not disclose the number of soldiers who had died and the amount of money their kin received.
Juma also revealed that the soldiers are paid a Sh89,456 monthly allowance each, in addition to the monthly pay and allowances paid by the government. The PS however did not reveal how much each injured soldier is entitled to, only stressing that it depends on the level of disability.
While responding to a statement sought by Wesley Korir (Cherangany MP) regarding the welfare of soldiers returning from Somalia, Defence and Foreign Relations committee member Chris Wamalwa, on behalf of Juma, indicated that the Government has catered for all the soldiers in Somalia.
He was nevertheless put to task to give the statistics of soldiers who have been injured or died and how much the State has paid so far.
Wamalwa promised to get figures from the Ministry of Defence on the beneficiaries of soldiers killed in Somalia before they joined Amisom. "Amison provides for personal re-imbursement for cases of death and injuries. The foregoing financial measures took effect when KDF joined Amison," said Wamalwa.
But Minority Leader Francis Nyenze demanded to know if the soldiers' continued stay in Somalia was adding any value to Kenya. "We need to know how many soldiers have died and initiate a debate on their possible withdrawal from the war-torn nation," he said. Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja), Jared Opiyo (Awendo) Daniel Maanzo (Makueni) also concurred with Nyenze, emphasising that the Government's response is generalised, yet many soldiers under operation 'Linda Nchi' have died.
Wamalwa said the situation will be analysed on needs' basis. The legislators expressed concern on the medical care and treatment extended to the soldiers. Wamalwa stated that according to the agreement signed between the government and AU on June 2, 2012 in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, on medical and dental support for the Kenyan soldiers, the government is obligated to provide basic medical care.
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join