Tana Police Demand Payment of Allowances

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Alphonce Gari

21 June 2011

Police in Tana county are demanding payment of their outstanding dues for a successful disarmament in Bura Tana River that led to the recovery of 15 firearms. The officers are among others from the Administration Police, Rapid Deployment Unit and the General Service Unit drawn from the region to disarm the Orma and the Wardei in Bura Tana District in March.

They claim that while their counterparts were paid Sh16,000 each last month, there has been no official communication to them. In a press statement the officers have appealed to Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere to intervene and have their problem solved amicably. “Before the operation took off, the Coast Provincial Police Officer Aggrey Adoli briefed the security officers in Garissa town and confirmed to them that they would be paid by the end of the exercise but did not clarify the exact amount and the mode of payment,” said the statement.

The source said the operation took fifteen days and more than twenty assorted rifles were recovered. “More weapons are expected to have been surrendered voluntarily as a result of the introduced motivation of paying Sh12,000 to those who surrendered weapons willingly,” he said. The officers were deployed to Bangale, Madogo and Bura Tana Divisions.

They said there was no response to efforts to get clarification from the officer in-charge of operations in Coast Province, Hassan Abdi. Bura police chief Kuya Okutoyi said he was not aware whether the officers had not been paid or not. “I am not aware if the officers have not been paid but talk to the PPO because he was the commander during the operations,” he said. Contacted for comment Coast PPO Aggrey Adoli said the issue was an internal affair and was being sorted out.

He criticised the media for following up such matters saying they could create animosity within the force since there were other operations going on and allowances had been delayed. At first Adoli said the officers were fed to do the operations which was the only provision by the government but later in the telephone interview he admitted that the Sh16,000 allowances vouchers were ready and in the treasury. He also said that only the Administration police had been paid and that all the OCPD had been briefed at a meeting in Mombasa . “Tell the relative who has told you that government is processing the vouchers and are ready at the treasury I don’t know why you are following the issues and its themselves who delayed their names,” he said.

The provincial police boss asked the media (journalist) to be patriotic the nation to avoid creating any unnecessary conflicts within the force. “Let us be patriotic to our nation if the thing is reported wrongly it can create animosity in the force, so many operations going on and the officers get their allowances at the end of this month because the books of accounts are being closed now,” he said.

AllAfrica – All the Time