Early this year, the government abandoned an ambitious plan to build houses for the police and instead opted to introduce house allowances for all cadres of officers.
The government had planned to build 1,850 units in the pilot phase of a comprehensive strategy to improve the living conditions of police and prison staff.
The project initiated three years ago involved construction of self-contained houses in various parts of the country, contrary to a recommendation by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority in 2016.
Ipoa’s 2016 study recommended accommodation for only specialised paramilitary police units and officers in remote areas where houses are not readily available.
Ipoa said more than 63,000 police officers were living in deplorable conditions which undermined their morale.
Former Ipoa chairman Macharia Njeru described the situation as dire.
The authority has now advised the Treasury and the Ministry of Interior to develop and implement a National Police Service housing policy.
Paying junior officers house allowances would save the government Sh2-Sh3 billion that is spent on electricity, water and other bills, and more than Sh1 billion on leasing houses.
The government pays as much as Sh28,000 for very house leased for police officers.
To address housing problems within the Police Service, the national Treasury last month agreed to pay house allowances for 70,000 junior police officers.
Out of an estimated 98,000 police officers, only those above the rank of inspector earn house allowances. The rest are supposed to be housed by the Government, which has resulted in a crisis. Many live in deplorable conditions.
The General Service Unit, Rapid Deployment Unit, Rural Border Patrol Unit, Presidential Escort Unit and police in training colleges will not benefit from the proposed allowances.
Instead, they will be paid special allowances that also cover accommodation, the official said.
The decision follows President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive to Interior CS Fred Matiang'i to formulate a solution to the persistent housing problem for police.
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