NAIROBI, Kenya – Only Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) personnel stationed in barracks will be required to pay for their meals under the new pay-as-you-eat policy, the Ministry of Defence has said, moving to quash speculation that the directive applies to all soldiers.
Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya told MPs on Tuesday that the change will not affect troops deployed on active operations, peacekeeping missions, or in training centres.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Defence, Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committee, Tuya said the policy merely completes a gradual shift that began 25 years ago, when KDF replaced breakfast and dinner with a ration cash allowance, leaving lunch as the only subsidised meal. That subsidy ended on June 30, 2025.
“The pay-as-you-eat is not new. It is simply a substitution of the free lunch arrangement that was already being phased out,” Tuya said, adding that internal consultations were held before the rollout.
MPs Raise Morale Concerns
Committee chair Nelson Koech noted that the issue had become politically charged, while Kajiado Central MP Memusi Kanchori questioned whether charging soldiers for meals could dampen morale.
Tuya assured lawmakers that allowances for affected personnel had been increased and insisted the change applies only to those in non-hostile areas. “It does not affect the morale of our soldiers,” she said.
How the System Works
Under the new system, soldiers in barracks will pay for lunch either in cash or through salary deductions.
The Defence Ministry says the move is intended to cut food wastage, improve efficiency, and make catering services more cost-effective.
A Kenya Army headquarters directive dated June 23 and signed by Chief of Logistics Brigadier Eric Nzioki Kitusya outlined the rollout plan.
Units were authorised to draw two weeks’ worth of rations as “seed capital” for the programme, with proceeds forming a revolving fund managed by unit-level committees to keep the system running.
Military kitchens and dining halls will be used for the scheme, with additional resources to be provided in the 2025/26 financial year.
The committee has asked Tuya to submit a formal report confirming whether soldiers support the policy before it issues its own recommendations.
