• National Police service to benefit after the signing of a contract with the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) for the provision of the services.
• NHIF will also offer the officers improved work injury benefits as the government endeavors to sustain the gains at the policy level and in line with relevant legislations
Some 131,816 National Police Service and the Kenya Prisons Services’ officers are set to benefit from an enhanced group life insurance cover beginning January 1, 2021.
This follows the signing of a contract with the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) for the provision of the services on Tuesday.
In the deal, NHIF will also offer the officers improved work injury benefits as the government endeavors to sustain the gains at the policy level and in line with relevant legislations.
According to Karanja Kibicho, the Principal Secretary for Interior and Citizen Services, the move is part of the state’s systematic efforts to institutionalize a welfare and protection programme for the officers who have to contend with life-changing situations through the course of their duties.
“We have had challenges in providing our officers with these services, and that is why we decided to engage NHIF to protect them just like the other civil servants,” he said after signing the agreement at Harambee House.
Kibicho added that the entities were strictly guided by the existing public procurement procedures.
The agreement is a culmination of lengthy deliberations and consultations among the key stakeholders, who settled on the intra-government contracting model.
This was with a view to addressing the escalating claims of unpaid life insurance and annuity benefits to service members or their designated beneficiaries.
According to the PS, the ultimate goal is to harmonize the insurance policy benefits of the officers with those of other civil servants and tailor them to address the vulnerabilities of the surviving families of those who lose their lives in line of duty.
Also in attendance was State Department for Correctional Services PS Zeinab Hussein, who hailed the move as a big motivating factor that has been lacking in the past.
The sentiments were also echoed by the Inspector General of the National Police, Hillary Mutyambai, and the Commissioner-General for the Kenya Prisons Service, Wycliffe Ogallo.
NHIF Chief Executive Officer, Dr Peter Gathege, vouched for the progressive optimisation initiatives at the state-owned insurer and undertook to ensure timely payment of claims to the officers.
To further caution officers, the state will launch a Trust Fund for the welfare of the families of police officers killed on duty.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the move is part of the President’s desire to accord genuine recognition and appreciation to the honourable services and selfless sacrifices of police officers.
Speaking during a memorial service for fallen police officers at the National Police Service Training College in Nairobi earlier this month, Matiang’i, said the Trust Fund will be unveiled in a fortnight.
Further, the CS said that they were under firm instructions from the President to establish a new ultra-modern facility at the Police Headquarters before the end of January 2021.
The facility will look at aspects of welfare including paying of gratuity and pension benefits to police officers, even when they exit through natural attrition.