Last year, President William Ruto directed an increase in the salaries of prison officers, a move that has now been carried out by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to enhance their compensation.
Following recommendations from the taskforce on police reforms led by former Chief Justice David Maraga, the salary adjustments have been implemented as of January 2025 to align with the government’s commitment to enhancing the welfare of officers.
The salary boost is supported by a new salary scale, synchronised with that of the National Police Service (NPS) to ensure fair and consistent compensation for men in uniform.
Beginning from the lowest ranking officer to the senior most officer, each job group has seen a 6% to 19% percent increase in their salary.
Here is a breakdown of the new salaries:
The salary structure is categorised in the position, pay grade and job group salary (KES) that the officer is placed.
The highest rank , the Commissioner General (CG) is in pay Grade 14 and job Group U and earns Kshs 180, 337.
The Deputy Commissioner General (DCG) on the other hand is in pay Grade 13 and job Group T, earning Kshs 166,780.
The Senior Assistant Commissioner General who is next in rank in pay grade 12, Job Group S now receives Kshs 132,000 while his/her assistant who is in pay grade 11, Job Grpup R, makes Kshs 119,730.
The Assistant Commissioner General’s immediate junior is the Deputy Commissioner, of pay grade 10 and job group Q making Kshs 98,500 while his assistant in pay grade 9, job group P will earn Kshs 85,110.
Next in rank , the Senior Superintendent of Prisons of pay grade 8 and job group N will receive Kshs 55,110 followed by the Superintendent of pay grade 7 and Job Group M who will earn Kshs 47,780.
The Chief Inspector comes next in Pay Grade 6, Job Group L who makes Kshs 41,770 followed by Inspector in Pay Grade 5, Job Group K making Kshs 37,070.
The Senior Sergeant in pay grade 4 , Job Group J will receive Kshs 30,170 while his immediate junior, Sergeant, in pay grade 3 and job Group H will earn Kshs 24,580.
The lowest ranking officer will also receive an increment , beginning at the Corporal rank in pay grade 2 and job group G who will earn Kshs 21,500 follwed by Constable in pay grade 1, Job Group F who will take home Kshs 16,890 a month.
The Kenya Prisons Cadets are mot exempt from yhe pay rise and are categorized in the pay grade 5 and job group K and are set to make Kshs 40,000 every month.
Allowances
Kenya Prisons Employees earns allowances according to their rank and pay grade which includes risk allowances, house allowances and cluster allowance.
According to the SRC, housing allowance is accorded to the officers according to the location they reside.
Civil servants are categorized into four clusters based on their work locations, which determine their housing allowances:
•Cluster 1: Employees stationed in Nairobi receive the highest housing allowance.
•Cluster 2: Civil servants based in county headquarters such as Kisumu, Nakuru, Mombasa, Malindi, Lamu, Kwale, Kilifi, and Naivasha receive the second-highest allowance.
•Cluster 3: Officers working in county headquarters including Nyeri, Machakos, Eldoret, Kericho, Kisii, Kakamega, Lodwar, Embu, Nanyuki, and Garissa are entitled to the third-highest allowance.
•Cluster 4: Covers all other regions not included in the first three clusters.
The officers may receive additional payments depending on their location or job responsibilities, such as:
•Hardship allowance: Offered to employees working in remote or challenging environments to compensate for the difficulties of the location.
•Transfer allowance: Provided to cover relocation expenses when an employee is reassigned to a new work station.
•Acting allowance: Paid to employees who temporarily take on the responsibilities of a higher-ranking position.
The Prison officers alongside those in the NPS and also those in the National Youth Service (NYS) are set to enjoy the benefit of what is seen as a move to improve service delivery in the security sector.
