NAIROBI, Kenya – The Social Health Authority (SHA) has paid out KSh1.2 billion to compensate police officers injured in the line of duty, CEO Dr. Mercy Mwangangi told senators on Thursday.
Appearing before the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, Dr. Mwangangi said the Authority had so far settled 1,567 claims from affected officers.
She noted that SHA remained committed to ensuring that all eligible officers received their dues without delay.
However, the CEO revealed that 432 claims had been declined for various reasons, while 129 were under dispute.
Another 95 claims were still pending because of incomplete documentation.
She added that 155 claims were currently undergoing payment processing, and 41 others were under further review.
But senators raised concern over discrepancies between the figures provided by SHA and those from the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) and the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSH).
The Committee directed the three agencies to urgently harmonise their records.
“As a committee, we are directing the Social Health Authority, the National Police Service Commission and the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services to engage and submit a concurrent list of claims,” said Chairperson Senator Lelegwe Ltumbesi.
The lawmakers also cautioned SHA against rejecting or deferring claims on grounds that an officer was allegedly off-duty, arguing that police are effectively on duty 24 hours a day.
They further insisted that officers must not be subjected to repeated medical assessments, noting that DOSH is the only legally mandated body to conduct such evaluations.
The committee vowed to push until all injured officers are fully compensated.
