Agony for police officers who have integrated with the public

The face of police Kenya police residence at Sondu police station. [File]

When they started moving out of their official residences to integrate with the public more than a month ago, hopes were high that the state of security in communities would drastically improve.

Now, however, junior police officers and prison warders are struggling to guarantee their own security as they lament the conditions they have to contend with.

A majority of them have already complied with the new housing scheme directive which requires them to rent houses outside their police quarters.

Just like the poor government houses they have been living in for years, most of the officers in Kisumu have moved to slums such as Obunga, Manyatta and Kibos claiming they cannot afford better houses.

Investigations by The Standard has unearthed a series of woes the police officers are facing as they move into houses that are worse than the cubicles they were living in at their work stations.

Interviews with a number of officers established that they are barely surviving as they continue to be vulnerable to attacks by thugs in areas they have rented houses.

They claim they have now become a 'hot cake'  for thugs    targeting their uniform and break into their houses whenever they have gone to work or washed their clothes.

Police officers claim allowance they have been given by the government are  little which means that they can only afford houses that are in poor conditions in informal settlements that are far from their work stations.

A number of officers in Nyanza region told The Standard that the integration has affected their morale and has placed their lives at a risk from criminals.

“Once you are a police officer, you are an obvious target to the criminals living in the neighborhoods and most people are also reluctant to embrace us,” said a policeman based at Central police station in Kisumu.

This even as their bosses dismissed their claims, arguing that they are not “Special Kenyans”, saying that they have no option but to comply with the directives and integrate fully into the community.

Warders at Kibos and Kodiaga prisons as well as other police officers speaking on condition of anonymity claim that some of them have already lost their uniforms to thieves.

“My house was broken into when I reported to work at night and I lost my uniforms as well as a pair of military boots. My colleagues too have been affected by burglary,” said a warder at Kodiaga.

The situation is even worse at Kibos prison where a number of warders also claimed that they have been waylaid by thugs late in the evening and early in the morning when they are from their work stations.

They said they have been receiving a house allowance of Sh5,500 which can only allow them to get houses far away from the prison.

Insecurity is rife at the area around the prison with reports indicating that two police officers have already been attacked by thugs who also robbed them of their valuables.

Other officers also claimed that price of rental houses established next to their work stations ballooned when landlords became aware of their demand for houses.

“At a place where a bedsitter went at Sh4,000, the prices have now shot up to between Sh6,500 to Sh9,000. We are now forced to spend more than we are receiving to pay rent,” lamented another officer.

The officer moved to a single room at Otonglo in the outskirts of Kisumu where he is coughing Sh6,500 to offset his rent despite receiving Sh5,500 as house allowance.

According to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) guidelines, officers in Nairobi are expected to receive Sh9,800 for house allowance and an additional Sh4,000 for commuter allowance.

Those based in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyeri, Eldoret, Kisii, Kitale, Kakamega and Malindi are expected to receive Sh7,300 for their house allowances while the ones in other regions are expected to receive Sh5, 500.

But according to the officers, the allowances are further taxed leaving them with only a little amount to use to offset their rent.

The situation is even worse for officers with families as they called on the government to review the policy and construct government houses which they can afford within the communities.

“We are not against the process because we are taught to follow directives but from a humane point of view, it is difficult for an officer to find a good house with the allowance we are paid,” said another officer.

In February this year, reports emerged that police officers and prison warders stationed at urban areas had sought for transfers in large numbers because of the fear of being unable to cope up with the high cost of living.

They instead opted for rural areas where officers based there are also facing an accommodation crisis as a result of a lack of rental houses.

Nyanza Regional Police Commander Vincent Makhoha however dismissed the claims of the officers and said the decision to integrate them with the public was well-thought of.

“Even before the implementation of the directive, there were police officers who were already living outside,” said Makhoha.

He noted that they have been urging police officers to keep their uniforms at their work stations if they feared thugs would steal them.

“In  Nyanza, we already have 100 percent compliance but there are only a few officers who are complaining but the rest are very happy,” said Makhoha.