From Guns to Sand; Here’s How GSU Officer Ditched his job for ‘Sand Harvesting’!

A paramilitary officer is regretting his decision to resign in search of greener pastures in South Korea.


With prospects of a better life and pay, Patrick Otieno Osore quit his job as a General Service Unit (GSU) officer in 2016 only for the job to evade him.


The 28-year-old had been informed the job was security related. The details about the new job were however scanty. A relative who, by then, was based in South Korea, advised him to grab the new challenge.

To merit for the job, Otieno was required to first resign from the police job as a horse mount officer — a condition he fulfilled by drafting a resignation letter to his superiors and the National Police Service Commission (NPSC).


Otieno, then a constable, quit in September in 2016 and was due to report for the new assignment on January 16, 2017, which never happened since Otieno had not been issued with a discharge letter as required by the new employer. The unexpected turn of events led to him missing out on the job.
Otieno is now a sand harvester in River Nyando besides doing manual farm jobs which earns him between Sh100 and Sh200 a day.


He has now written to NPSC requesting to be given back his job to support his young family, arguing it is becoming difficulty to survive on odd casual jobs back in his Ahero village of Kisumu County.


“Innocently, like any other young man, I happened to get what I thought was a better job. I resigned in search of greener pasture and surrendered the police kit in my possession as I eagerly waited for my discharge letter,” notes Otieno in the letter requesting for cancellation of resignation.

Sure that he would land the job, the GSU man paid his employer a one-month basic salary in lieu for breach of notice.

“Unfortunately my opportunity wouldn’t wait for the discharge letter. I automatically lost the job,” says Otieno whose former service number is 98697/2103004716. He was enlisted on July 12, 2013 after completing fifteen month of training at GSU Training School enroute for deployment to Gilgil based Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU).


The father of two – one physically challenged — claims he got an opening at Kenya Airways last year but could not land the employment opportunity due to lack of a discharge letter.


“I would humbly request my employer to kindly consider my request by making an independent follow-up to my superior at ASTU, Mounted Company, to ascertain my discipline record, commitment, passion and diligence to service delivery prior to my resignation,” adds Otieno

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