Police officers assigned to guard senior State and public officials will begin earning a monthly top-up allowance of Sh45,625 after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) approved a new payment structure aimed at bringing all officers on personal security duties under one standard rate.
The revised allowance tooke effect from July 1 and will apply to government security officers deployed as personal security officers. The commission says the new rate is meant to ensure officers carrying out the same responsibilities receive equal compensation across the public service.
For many of the officers, the change comes with a higher payout. Some said they had been receiving a monthly top-up of Sh30,000 while performing similar duties, meaning the new rate offers an increase in their earnings.
The country has about 12,000 police officers serving as bodyguards. They provide security to the President, judges, Cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries and other senior public officials. Others are assigned to governors and Members of Parliament.
Even with the adjustment, some police officers who receive other allowances said the payments remain too low.
In a circular, SRC chairperson Sammy Chepkwony said the allowance will only be paid while an officer is officially serving as a personal security officer. The payment will stop once the officer is recalled to their parent institution.
The commission directed that officers currently receiving a monthly top-up below Sh45,625 will automatically have their allowance raised to the approved rate.
Those already earning a higher top-up allowance will continue receiving their existing payment on a personal-to-holder basis until their current deployment comes to an end.
The new guidelines do not cover officers assigned to the security of the President and the Deputy President. They also exclude officers working within national security organs or public security institutions where such duties are part of their normal responsibilities.
"Public sector institutions should adopt the approved rate of salary top-up allowance for government security officers deployed to provide uninterrupted personal safety and security to eligible State officers and other public officers," the circular states.
SRC also directed that all eligible officers receive the allowance at the same approved rate regardless of their rank or job group.
The circular has been issued to the Attorney General, Controller of Budget, Auditor General, Chief Justice, Director of Public Prosecutions, Cabinet secretaries, principal secretaries, governors, constitutional commissions, Parliament, county governments, public universities, state corporations and other public institutions.
The deployment of armed police officers as personal bodyguards has continued to attract public attention, with questions raised over how officers are selected for VIP security and whether the growing demand for such services affects policing in other parts of the country.