President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed the Military Veterans Bill, 2022, into law, which would assist Kenyans who have served in the armed services and their families in securing jobs and educational scholarships.
The Act will apply to ex-servicemen and officers who served in the colonial King’s African Rifles (KAR), post-colonial Kenya Armed Forces (KAF), or the Kenya Defence Forces before or after 1963. (KDF).
The law stipulates that the Defence Council establish the Dependants’ Education Fund, which will grant scholarships for the education of the offspring of deceased servicemen.
The Act mandates that the Defence Council regulate the Fund’s administration, including the processes for processing scholarship applications.
“The Defence Council shall facilitate the provisions of benefits under this section to military veterans and their dependants through the ministry responsible for matters relating to military veterans, any other government ministry, department or agency, or a private entity,” the Act states.
The Defence Cabinet Secretary, who chairs the Council, is joined by the Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, commanders of the Air Force, Navy, and Army, and the Defence Principal Secretary.
The new system will benefit those soldiers getting a pension who were discharged or retired from the armed forces or the KDF on medical reasons and who were not dishonorably discharged.
The new law aims to give military retirees who are struggling to make ends meet a dignified existence after dedicated their lives to defending their country.
“Policies regarding military veterans shall be aimed at ensuring the smooth and seamless transition of military veterans from military service to civilian life,” the Act states.
It mandates the Defence Council to determine the benefits to be accorded to military veterans and their dependants including employment, education, training and skills development among others.
