The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) has locked access to the meal allowance for its personnel, redirecting the funds to the newly introduced Pay-As-You-Eat (PAYE) lunch programme a move that has stirred discontent among junior officers.
According to an internal memo , KDF personnel will no longer receive their monthly lunch allowance as cash. Instead, the funds will be routed through DESACCO (Defence Savings and Credit Co-operatives Society), with half of the amount locked in the KDF Meal Booking App. Any unused funds at the end of the month will be released back to the officers.
The directive comes after the termination of a meal subsidy programme on June 30. Officers are now required to pay for lunch out-of-pocket, sparking concern particularly among junior officers who had already committed their payslips to loans. The new policy means a reduced take-home pay for many.
Sources within the military revealed that some officers had opted to forgo meals entirely in protest of the new system. In response, KDF appears to have implemented the locked allowance mechanism to encourage compliance with the PAYE programme.
Introduced to enhance accountability and sustainability in logistics, the PAYE system replaces the older, reportedly inefficient meal provision method. A June 23 circular from Army Headquarters directed all units to demand Ration Scale Four for 14 days as seed capital, with proceeds forming a revolving fund managed by newly established PAYE committees.
The initiative follows a strategic shift championed by a task force set up in October 2024 to develop the implementation framework. The task force’s recommendations were reviewed in December 2024 by the Service Commanders Committee, setting the current transition into motion.
Despite previous unsuccessful attempts by the government to eliminate free meals for the military, the KDF leadership remains committed to this latest reform. Commanders have been instructed to carry out widespread sensitisation and use existing communication channels to support a smooth transition.
However, resistance among officers, particularly those affected financially, suggests the policy may continue to face internal pushback in the coming months.
