Why DIG Lagat is facing new storm

Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat is once again in the eye of storm, this time, for alleged loss of millions meant for officers who toiled to secure fans during the just ended CHAN tournament.

With the ghosts of Albert Ojwang’s murder still hanging over his head and the courts granting orders to prosecute the case seeking to exit him from office, Lagat is now facing the wrath of his juniors, who accuse him of presiding over per diem rip off.

The officers, mostly juniors who spoke to the Saturday Standard, revealed that they were yet to get any allowances for their services with senior officers complaining what they received is way smaller than what they were promised.

And the grumbling is getting louder, even as officers constricted to speak for fear of reprisals lamented of embezzlement of their hard earned allowances.

Documents received by Saturday Standard show Sh11 million was allocated for officers allowances.

Where buck stops

Lagat, as DIG Kenya Police, is in charge of operations. And this means that operations like CHAN are squarely under his command.

The document indicates the highest-ranking officer in the team, Director of Operations Adamson Bungei, was to earn Sh258,000 for the 28 days of the tournament.

Bungei holds the rank of Senior Assistant Inspector General of Police. Below him is Assistant Inspector General of Police who was to earn Sh215,600 alongside Commissioners of Police (CPs).

Police Constables (PCs) were to earn Sh3,465 daily. This means that at the end of the tournament, they were to take home Sh97,020.

It emerged, however, that some officers are yet to receive their money, while others earned as little as Sh10,000 for the duration of the tournament. Some of the officers afraid to demand their right, revealed to the Standard their frustrations.

Yesterday, both Kanja and Lagat could not be reached for a comment. Text messages sent to IG Kanja and DIG Lagat were never responded to. The officers did not pick phone calls or reply to messages.

The Saturday Standard also reached out to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen but he too did not respond.

However, A senior police officer at Vigilance House, who sought anonymity, denied the claims by the officers dismissing the issue as just rumours. The officer said those complaining are not truthful about the whole deployment, adding that NPS was taking care of even their meals. 

The government paid Sh1.6 billion for African Nations Championship (CHAN) hosting rights, and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) was given Sh1.4 billion to ran the tournament.

LOC was chaired by Nicholas Musonye. Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Hussein Mohamed deputised him while Mike Rabar was the Chief Executive Officer. Rabar was assisted by Patrick Korir, the FKF Secretary General.  

The National Police Service (NPS) was to offer security during the tournament, and its officers were to be paid allowances by the LOC.

On Friday, Musonye did not pick calls for a comment. Rabar said that LOC never handled the allowances and that the money was given to NPS for distribution to the officers.

The Interior Ministry, through a top-ranking officer, distanced itself from the issue and confirmed that money had been wired to the NPS.

 A senior officer familiar with the CHAN operations said that before officers are deployed, a deployment plan is shared. “Kanja and Lagat must be aware of the officers deployed for such operations and the money due to each. And because this is an operational issue, Lagat is directly responsible.”

The officers who spoke to Saturday Standard anonymously are, however, demanding to be paid their allowance.

Coupled with the reduced amount, the officers say even that is taking too long to be remitted. 

One of the senior officers, a Commissioner of Police (CP), said the memories of the tournament were painful since whatever they got did not match their input.

“We were given a flat rate of Sh10,000 and we were never given anywhere to sign for the money,” said the officer.

He said the money was given in a corridor, and nothing was said.

According to a document seen by Saturday Standard, the officers in the rank of a CP were to get Sh7,700 a day, earning a total of Sh215,600 for the 28 days the tournament was in place.

The officer confirmed the vouchers given to them indicated that, but they only got Sh10,000.

The officer said vehicles had consumed fuel worth Sh50 million, questioning how this happened yet the vehicles used were not that many to consume such fuel.

Fuel money

In another instance, a CP said they spent more money fueling their car than the Sh10,000 that they received as allowance. The officer said they oversaw teams majorly made up of PCs and wondered if the allowance for CPs was Sh10,000 how much were the PC’s to get.

“I was given the amount that you have mentioned,” said the officer.

Given their rank, the officer should have been paid directly to their accounts or signed a document after receiving it, but none of that happened.

“I did not see the minutes saying the much we were to be paid.”

The officer confirmed being given Sh10,000 in the corridors of Vigilance House.

“I used to fuel my own car to report for duty and the money I used was more than the Sh10,000 that I was given,” said the officer.

“We did not confirm from anywhere because we did not have the correct figure and we could not therefore ask questions.”

Another CP, who was a commander and was part of the planning committee, said that he had been paid his ‘small’ amount and was satisfied.

According to the officer, the anticipated number of police officers who had been earmarked for deployment was not enough and they had to go back to the drawing board.

“That was in the planning but the number of police needed to maintain law and order increased hence the reduced allowances,” said the officer.

The officer cited the high number of Kenyans who turned up to watch the national team Harambee Stars, leading to more security challenges that called for more officers to be deployed.

Asked how much he received, the officer refused to give a figure.

Another CP confirmed to Saturday Standard that they were given Sh10,000 in one of the corridors at Vigilance House.

“I am a senior officer and I do not need to complain much, but what we were paid was not the correct amount,” said the officer.

Rank and noise

The CP said he was advised by his bosses that the higher he rises in rank, the less he should complain. 

He added, “My per diem is even higher than the amount I was paid.”

“We need to know where the money went.”

A PC interviewed by the Saturday Standard said he had not received a penny despite the work done.

“I have not been given any money from the tournament,” said the officer.

In their line of work, the officer was yet to hear any colleague discussing the payments calling it water under the bridge since the bosses led by IG Kanja and DIG Lagat are silent.

A Senior Superintendent of Police said he had heard of his colleagues getting paid and they were told that the money was being paid in batches but none had hit his account.

“We heard that there are lots that have been paid but for me, not yet,” said the officer.

A corporal questioned the rationale that was used to distribute the money, where some received while others did not.

“Only officers in the rank of commissioners were paid. And even then, they were paid less than five percent of the amount that was budgeted for and the money released,” said the corporal.

Rabar accused the media of focusing on small issues that he said were denting Kenya’s image abroad.

“Instead of you guys writing about the success of the tournament, you are only looking for stories.”

When pressed on the fact that the police officers were part of the team that made the tournament success and they are human beings who deserve to be paid, Rabar went quiet.

The national team Harambee Stars got Sh58.2 million for their exploits in the tournament.