Chief Inspector David Maina, who lost arms during the anti-Finance Bill protests in Nairobi on Tuesday, will have to wait longer for his insurance compensation as the government has not disbursed Sh15 billion in premiums meant for police cover.
The insurance cover for police officers relates to the Group Life, Work Injury Benefits Act, Group Personal Accident and Last Expense cover.
Police reports indicate that the Chief Inspector with the Rapid Deployment Unit was injured when he released the trigger and detonated a tear gas canister.
The canister exploded, severely injuring his arms from the wrist.
Ms Mildred Amoit Elisha, a police officer who was near him, was injured in the chest.
Early in the year, the National Police Service (NPS) and the Kenya Prisons Service signed a three-year contract with Britam Life Assurance Company Ltd to provide cover.
The contract, renewable every year, runs from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2027.
Documents seen by the Sunday Nation indicate the NPS has been requesting Treasury to release the premiums.
On April 5, 2024, NPS Accounting Officer Bernice Lemedeket wrote to National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u about the service having received notices of stoppage of service from hospitals on account of delayed payments.
“Given the nature of duties and risks involved, disruption of services will leave members of the NPS and the Kenya Prisons exposed to threats. This will be detrimental to public service,” Ms Lemedeket said in the letter.
She requested approval of Sh4.34 billion through a supplementary budget.
“This expenditure is, therefore, urgent to forestall further disruption of medical services,” the letter said.
Treasury has not responded to the request and Prof Ndung’u did not reply to inquiries on the delayed disbursement of the insurance premiums.
An officer injured in the line of duty is entitled to an amount equivalent to five years of annual salary on suffering permanent total disability for Group Life and Group Personal Accident.
Apart from the cost of medical treatment cover for inpatient and outpatient services, reconstructive surgery is also available for the NPS and Prison officers.
The Sunday Nation established that as of June 18, the Treasury had not released the outstanding premium of Sh4.6 billion to Britam Insurance and CIC Insurance for the three-month extension from January 1, 2024, to March 31, 2024.
Treasury had also not released Sh11.2 billion for one year of cover for Group Life, Group Personal Accident, Work Injury Benefit Act and Medical Cover for police from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
On January 19, 2024, Ms Lemedeket requested the National Treasury for Sh4.53 billion in additional funding through a supplementary budget to offset the insurance claims.
That was after the Treasury committed to providing the additional funds for the police cover for the 2023/24 financial year on November 9, 2023.
On February 16, 2024, the NPS appealed for additional funding of Sh1.1 billion for Medical Insurance Cover, Group Life Cover, Group Personal Accident and Work Injury Benefit Act for the officers.
In a February 28, 2024 letter, Treasury responded: “We have reviewed the request for additional funding to cater for the shortfall.”
“In light of the justification provided, the National Treasury has considered and approved additional funding of Sh1.1 billion within the context of the 2023/24 supplementary estimates.”
The letter by Prof Ndung’u was copied to his Interior colleague Kithure Kindiki and Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu.
Despite the assurance, the injured police officers are yet to be paid their claims, with some hospitals threatening to stop attending to members of NPS and Prison Service.
“As stated in our March 4, 2024 letter, Universal Family Hospital Services has made the difficult decision to suspend medical services to your clients. This decision was made due to the prolonged delay in receiving payment for services rendered,” Dr Peter Kilonzo, the hospital CEO said in the letter.
The initial Group Personal Accident, Group Life, Work Injury Benefit Act and Medical Cover for the NPS which expired on December 31, 2023 was extended by the government up to April 30, 2024.
This was to enable the government seek funds from the Treasury to settle premiums as the existing budgets had been exhausted.
The National Treasury has not paid the premiums for the extension and even for the new three-year contract.
Of the three-month extension medical cover for police, GPA and Group Life cover premium of Sh4.6 billion, the National Treasury released Sh2 billion. But instead of the amount being used for the purpose, it was used partially to pay for the new medical cover which means that the old debt of Sh4.3 billion hasn’t been paid for GPA under Britam and Sh3.4 billion medical cover premium under CIC Insurance.
