Team told of airwing’s poorly paid pilots and disused aircraft

A Kenya Police helicopter. The sorry state of the Kenya Police Airwing was Friday laid bare with details of poor pay, low morale, a high turnover of pilots and aircraft lying in disuse. PHOTO/FILE. 

In Summary

• The department was unable to retain pilots trained at the taxpayers’ expense because it could not match the salaries offered by rival organisations, the airwing commandant, Colonel Rogers Mbithi, said.
• Mr Mbithi said that under the public service scheme, the officers could retire any time as long as they gave notice or forfeited a month’s salary.
• Mr Mbithi, the only senior officer to be vetted who is not a career policeman, was challenged to explain how he supervised police officers under his command when he had no formal police training.

By ZADOCK ANGIRA
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The sorry state of the Kenya Police Airwing was Friday laid bare with details of poor pay, low morale, a high turnover of pilots and aircraft lying in disuse.

The department was unable to retain pilots trained at the taxpayers’ expense because it could not match the salaries offered by rival organisations, the airwing commandant, Colonel Rogers Mbithi, said.

He told the panel vetting senior police officers that the department was always grappling with staff shortages because pilots and engineers were easily lured away with promises of better pay and other benefits.

“We are just helpless.

There is nothing I can do to stop them from leaving,” he said in response to a question by Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Administration Police Samuel Arachi on what he was doing to retain staff and raise morale.

Mr Mbithi said that under the public service scheme, the officers could retire any time as long as they gave notice or forfeited a month’s salary.

“The temptation is there for our staff to go for better packages.

We can only bond those pilots we train outside the country for a short time,” he said and revealed that a pilot of the rank of Senior Superintendent earned a gross pay of about Sh125,000 (inclusive of allowances) while his colleague at the Kenya Wildlife Service took home Sh450,000.

The staff lacked insurance cover and a proposal for a capital sum of Sh15 million had not been acted upon.

A commissioner with the panel, Mohammed Murshid, pushed for the involvement of the National Police Service Commission in the recruitment of pilots and observed that the pilots at the airwing were under-utilised because most of the aircraft did not fly.

“I notice that very few aircraft are in operation but you have about 31 pilots,” Mr Murshid said.

Mr Mbithi, the only senior officer to be vetted who is not a career policeman, was challenged to explain how he supervised police officers under his command when he had no formal police training.

He said “I only deal with policy issues with the assistance of the chief engineer and two chief pilots. 

Also, I am in charge of about 100 officers only which is quite a small number.”

The officer

Colonel Mbithi, also of the rank of a Deputy Commissioner off Police (DCP), appeared before the vetting panel and the commissioners sought to know how he was managing the police officers under his command without any formal police training.

Mr Mbithi joined the unit in 2009 as from the Department of Defence (DoD).

As a colonel, his last assignment was the head of operations for one year.

He attended Mumbuni High School between 1972 and 1975 before joining Njoro High School for his A levels.

He joined the military on May 22, 1978 as a flight cadet and then proceeded to the Heli Union School –Tarbes in France for Basic helicopter Flying Course.

He came back in 1980 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant before being posted to the Helicopter School, Kenya Airforce Station, now called Moi Airbase.

At the school, he underwent operational conversion that enabled him become an operational pilot.

In 1984 he attended a helicopter’s Instructors Course at the UK’s Central Flying Schoolof Royal Air Force where he qualified as Qualified Helicopter Instructor (QHI).

Colonel Mbithi also headed the Helicopter Squadron in 1997. Between 1998 and 2001 he was assigned non-flying duties at the Defence Staff College as assistant in charge of operations. After that he went back to the Moi Airbase to head the Flying Wing.

Mr Mbithi has also been involved in diplomatic duties outside the country.

He was the  Kenya’s Defence Attache in the People’s Republic of China between 2004 and 2008.

He has also been the presidential pilot for both former presidents Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki.

The Kenya Police Airwing has not strategy to retain the pilots it has trained, the unit’s commandant said Friday.

Colonel Rogers Mbithi told the panel vetting the police officers that the inadequate number of pilots had been partly attributed to a high turnover of experienced pilots and engineers lured away by better salaries and benefits in other sectors.

“We are just helpless. There is nothing I can do to stop them from leaving,” he said.

The deputy Inspector General in charge of the Administration Police Samuel Arachi asked Mr Mbithi what he was doing about staff retention and morale.

“Police have used a lot of resources to train pilots but they still leave.

What strategies have you come up with to counter this,” he asked.

Mr Mbithi said that under the public service scheme, the officers could retire anytime so long as they gave a month’s notice or forfeited a one month’s salary.

“The temptation is there for our staff to go for better packages but we can only bond for a period of time those pilots we train outside the country,” he said.

He revealed that a pilot of the rank of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) for example, was only earning about Sh125, 000.

“Other sectors target our officers because they know our training is thorough.

A pilot with the KWS earns about Sh450,000 and our pilots are tempted to move,” he said.

Mr Mbithi also revealed that apart from the normal police salaries, the pilots were given meagre allowances.

Currently, those holding the first stage – the Private Pilot Licence are paid Sh5,000, while those with the Students Pilot Licence are given an allowance of Sh10,000.

Those with the Private Pilots’ Licence and Airline Transport Pilot Licence get Sh20,000 and Sh25,000, respectively.

Pilots holding the Commercial Pilot Licence are paid Sh20,000 while the highest paid are the Airline Transport Pilot Licence holders who are given Sh25,000.

Though it had been recommended that all Airwing pilots and engineers be insured for a capital sum of Sh15 million, that has not happened.

A commissioner with the panel, Mohammed Murshid, insisted that though the process of recruiting pilots was technical, the NPSC had to be involved as required by law.

He also observed that the pilots were not fully utilized at the airwing since most of the aircrafts were not working.

“I notice that very few aircrafts are in operation but you have about 31 pilots,” said Mr Murshid.

The Kenya Police Airwing commandant Rogers Mbithi is the only senior officer to be vetted who is not a career police officer.

Colonel Mbithi, also of the rank of a Deputy Commissioner off Police (DCP), appeared before the vetting panel and the commissioners sought to know how he was managing the police officers under his command without any formal police training.

Mr Mbithi joined the unit in 2009 as from the Department of Defence (DoD).

As a colonel, his last assignment was the head of operations for one year.

He attended Mumbuni High School between 1972 and 1975 before joining Njoro High School for his A levels.

He joined the military on May 22, 1978 as a flight cadet and then proceeded to the Heli Union School –Tarbes in France for Basic helicopter Flying Course.

He came back in 1980 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant before being posted to the Helicopter School, Kenya Airforce Station, now called Moi Airbase.

At the school, he underwent operational conversion that enabled him become an operational pilot.

In 1984 he attended a helicopter’s Instructors Course at the UK’s Central Flying Schoolof Royal Air Force where he qualified as Qualified Helicopter Instructor (QHI).

Colonel Mbithi also headed the Helicopter Squadron in 1997.

Between 1998 and 2001 he was assigned non-flying duties at the Defence Staff College as assistant in charge of operations.

After that he went back to the Moi Airbase to head the Flying Wing.

Mr Mbithi has also been involved in diplomatic duties outside the country.

He was the  Kenya’s Defence Attache in the People’s Republic of China between 2004 and 2008.

He has also been the presidential pilot for both former presidents Daniel Moi and Mwai Kibaki.