Audit reveals there are 514 police officers with disabilities, 3,739 degree holders

More than 500 police officers have been reduced to desk jobs because they were maimed in the line of duty, an audit report has revealed.

The majority of those living with disabilities in the service are male (488), according to the audit conducted in April. It added that most of the officers were maimed by terrorists and bandits' guns.

The audit was conducted by the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) to establish the status of persons living with disability in the service. It established that 500 of these officers are deployed while 14 are not deployed.

“The commission was able to identify some 408 cases as being authentic while another 40 cases are being further scrutinised,” read part of the report.

Of these, 105 officers are not yet registered with the National Council for People Living With Disabilities (NCPWD) hence cannot access benefits.

Gunshot wounds

“The cause of injury for majority of officers is gunshot wounds by bandits and terrorist attacks. Other injuries are caused by road accidents, rioting members of the public and even sickness through stroke and diabetes,” said the report.

The officers told the team they felt discriminated against and disadvantaged when it came to promotions, yet they were injured in the line of duty.

“Transfers have been done with little or no regard for disabled officers,” said the report, which recommends frequent audits of people living with disability to increase transparency and accountability, and to make working conditions favourable.

It also recommends fast-tracking of a policy to regulate working hours and monthly allowance of Sh5, 000 for such officers.

The audit is in accordance with the Persons with Disability Act 2003, Section 12(3), which stipulates that an employee with a disability shall be entitled to exemption from tax on all income accruing from his employment.

The exercise was conducted jointly in conjunction with NCPWD in Nairobi, Nyeri, Meru, Nakuru, Garissa, Kakamega, Kisumu and Mombasa counties.

The audit further established that 3,739 officers were university graduates and of these, 1,470 serve in Nairobi, 488 in Nyeri and 396 in Nakuru. Mombasa has 194, Garissa 101 and Kisumu nine.

Specialised fields

“Several police officers have acquired degrees in specialised fields but were deployed in general duties,” said the report.

The commission said phase two of the exercise would involve authenticating the academic certificates, and involve other Government agencies.

State agencies that participated in the exercise included Commission for University Education, State Department for University Education, National Police Service and the Kenya National Qualifications Authority.