The government has set aside sh1.2 billion to pay village elders involved in the fight against crimes and resolving disputes.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho has said the government has decided to recognize the elders who have been playing a vital role in maintaining security in the expansive rural areas and arbitrating in land and family disputes
"We have written to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and soon the elders will start getting allowances to boost their morale," said Kibicho while speaking in Kirinyaga County.
Kibicho said President Uhuru Kenyatta's government has invested more in security than any other regime since independence.
"The elders have been assisting in identifying criminal gangs, volunteering crucial security information to the police and resolving disputes, which can easily spark off violence and they must be awarded allowances on a monthly basis," said Kibicho.
Kibicho said that for the first time in history, chiefs and their assistants have become Authority to Incur expenditure holders and they no longer ask residents to fuel their vehicles and motorcycles.