Widows of retired Kenya Defence Forces officers now want the government to review the five-year duration they receive pension money when their husbands die.
The widows say the duration is short compared to the service offered by their spouses.
Speaking during a food donation drive by retired KDF officers under the umbrella of Kenya Veterans for Peace, Victoria Okello said the pension scheme needs to be adjusted.
She explained that after her husband died, she only received a pension for five years.
She said this was despite her husband receiving pension for two years after retirement before he died.
“The government needs to look at the pension of retired KDF officers, my husband died two years after retirement he did not even enjoy his retirement and then I was given his pension only for 5 years, which was too short and the government needs to do something,” Okello said.
She noted that this is the plight of many other ladies who do not speak about their predicaments.
In 2022 retired President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Military Veterans Bill, 2022.
The Act, which establishes a regulatory and institutional framework for the management of military veterans’ affairs, provides benefits to military veterans and their dependents including the establishment of the Dependents’ Education Fund by the Defence Council.
The Fund provides scholarships for the education of the children of deceased military veterans. The Act further makes provisions for the Defense Council to prescribe regulations for the administration of the Fund including the procedure for processing applications for scholarships.
The Kenya Veterans for Peace drive distributed assorted food items to 150 families to cushion them during these challenging economic times.
Nelson Sechere, executive director of Kenya Veterans for Peace, said they are targeting all regions.
He noted that among the projects they handle is drilling several boreholes to enable farming and therefore contribute to the country's food security.
Sechere said the little they do is just to uplift the lives of some of these ex-soldiers whose families live in deplorable lives.
“Our work is just to appreciate the former KDF soldiers, some of them live a deplorable life. It doesn’t promote the dignity of a military officer,” he said.