Police jam communication in pay protest

By Cyrus Ombati

NAIROBI, KENYA: Police officers have in the past week been jamming communication gadgets in Nairobi paralysing operations in protest over pay rise.

 Some officers have been creating intentional snarl-ups on the roads in the City even as senior officers claimed things were normal.

 Insiders say those protesting usually take their time to respond to incidents like traffic and crimes.

 This is the third time in a year that the officers are disrupting communication systems over failed pay increase.

 They want the government to honour a pledge made in 2007 to increase their salaries in phases.

 The pay rise has been pending since 2007 when recommendations were made by the defunct Permanent Public Service Remuneration Review.

 The Government paid the first phase of 28 per cent then refused to settle the 14 per cent and 28 per cent pay rises of the second and the third phases, which has prompted the protest.

 The disgruntled officers accused the Government of being insincere with them, claiming that previous pay increments have not been implemented as promised.

 But Nairobi County police boss Benson Kibui said operations were normal even as acknowledged, “Some intruders have been jamming their system”.

 “We are doing well and the crime is manageable. I am aware of some incidents where we have had jamming of the system but that will be addressed by other concerned parties,” he said.

 But other officers said the jamming has affected their work and some crimes go unreported or attended to.

 “The situation is bad because we have resorted to using our mobile phones for official matters and we fear some things may happen without our knowledge. They want to also be paid like other government servants,” said a senior officer who asked not to be named.

 The pay for the least paid officer was to be raised from 18,155 to 34,000 shillings per month, including allowances, if the installments are implemented in line with recommendations of the Justice Ransley commission on police reforms.

 Officials said the police employer National Police Service Commission has opened consultations with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission with an aim of increasing the pay for the service at large.