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We have all as come together as a country in the few sombre and terrifying occasions that the Al-Shabaab terror network has threatened the security, peace and stability of our peaceful country. We have wept together, mourned together and in unison cursed all the terror networks, that inflict pain on unarmed innocent civilians.
One common denominator in all these attacks is the heroic triumph of our special force, the highly trained and highly skilled recce commandos of the GSU, they have in all cases defeated and neutralised the forces of terror. Their heroism, sacrifice and dedication is what gives this country hope in times of such incidences. They are not alpha beings, their bodies are not bullet proof or bullet repellent, they don’t go into such situations with a spare life, but they go with the full knowledge that they are the last resort of this country in such situations, they go there knowing that over 40 million Kenyans are looking up to them, they go there to do their duty to the nation.
Now believe it or not, a matatu driver earns more money per month than a GSU commando constable, who we all hailed and praised after the recent Dusit2 riverside attack. While using a matatu a few days ago, I had a conversation with the driver of the matatu, I was interested to know how much he takes home at the end of the day, he told me that every day, he pays himself Sh1,500 which translates to around Sh45,000 per month, this is regardless of whether the day is good or bad.
Those driving big capacity buses earn up to Sh2,500 per day, translating to around Sh70,000 a month. The only difference between a matatu driver and a GSU Recce commando, is that the former’s term of employment is not secured, while the latter’s is permanent and pensionable.
Last month alone, that is January 2019, over 30 GSU commandoes from the Recce company tendered their resignations in pursuit of greener pastures, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The unit has been faced with an ever increasing number of well-trained officers leaving the service due to poor pay.
It is shocking at the same time that a GSU Commando who is well-trained both locally and internationally, earns less than Sh45,000 a month. I am talking about the net pay, the money that these officers go home with after those government deductions, forget about the gross salary nonsense. These are the people our politician and members of the public rush to take pictures with for their social media platforms.
These are the only people in Kenya’s security agencies that are trusted by the secret service of the United States to be close to POTUS while armed, the Israeli’s work with no other security agency apart from them, not men in blue, not the APs. If you drive past any local embassies of the G7 countries, you won’t fail to see the red beret of the dreaded GSU sentries armed to the teeth and eternally vigilant.
Yet we cannot afford to pay them something decent, something that even if not matching their heroism and dedication, will guarantee them and their families a better life.
An American Navy Seal earns more than a million shillings a month, their salary is in the range of our useless gluttonous MPs, who are still intending to increase their salaries when they resume session this February.
A GSU recce commando is the local definition of a Navy Seal, and if we only praise their heroism and dedication, then go numb over their remuneration, then we are getting it wrong, we will continue losing them to corporates and multinationals like Kenya Airways, BAT, EABL, UN, private contractors locally and abroad, and lately county governments and parastatals that offer them not much, but better wages than the National Police Service.
I wish and hope super waziri Dr Fred Matiangi sees the smoke and acts before the fire of greener pastures completely sucks our GSU commandos. Dear President Uhuru Kenyatta, it is time we give our commandos and heroes better remunerations, let’s make it at least Sh100,000 or something thereof, they are the epitome of dedication, sacrificed and patriotism.
Nelson Oduma, president of International Youth Network Against Corruption; [email protected]
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