1,567 injured police officers compensated, says Mwangangi as Senate pushes for transparency

1,567 injured police officers compensated, says Mwangangi as Senate pushes for transparency

The petitioners argue that "Parliament pushed the law through without conducting meaningful public participation, contrary to the demands of Articles 10 and 118 of the Constitution".

The Social Health Authority has told the Senate that it has cleared more than a thousand compensation cases for police officers who were injured while carrying out their duties, with the total payout now standing at Sh1.2 billion.

This came as Social Health Authority (SHA) Chief Executive Officer Dr Mercy Mwangangi faced the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations on Thursday to explain how far the Authority had gone in handling the claims.

Mwangangi said that the Authority had processed 1,567 claims linked to injured officers.

She also pointed out that 432 cases could not be approved for various reasons, while another 129 were currently being challenged.

The CEO noted that 95 more claims were yet to be completed because the officers’ documents were not fully submitted.

The Authority also reported that an extra 155 claims were already being prepared for payment, and 41 others were still being checked to clear up remaining issues.

However, during the discussion, senators observed that the figures offered by SHA did not match those held by the National Police Service Commission and the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services.

Due to this, the Senate Committee ordered all three bodies to compare their data and return with aligned records.

“As a Committee, we are directing the Social Health Authority, National Police Service Commission and Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services to have an engagement and submit a list that is concurrent with regards to claims,” stated the session Chair, Senator Lelegwe Ltumbesi.

The Committee also asked the Authority not to turn away any officer’s claim for being off-duty when the injury occurred, explaining that the law treats officers as being on duty at all times.

They further reminded SHA that officers should not undergo another medical review since DOSH is already the only agency allowed by law to carry out those checks.

Before closing the session, senators said they would continue following up until every injured officer receives the compensation due to them.

Reader Comments

Trending

Popular Stories This Week

Stay ahead of the news! Click ‘Yes, Thanks’ to receive breaking stories and exclusive updates directly to your device. Be the first to know what’s happening.