Judge puts on hold MPs pay raise plan

A court has slammed the breaks on Parliament against releasing Sh851,000 as salaries for MPs.

The MPs now have to wait until the High Court determines a petition lodged Thursday afternoon by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).

The lawyers filed an application for a conservatory order and a petition, raising constitutional questions about Parliament’s mandate.

Mr Justice David Majanja ruled that it was necessary to halt payment of the enhanced salaries due to the grave constitutional issues raised by the LSK.

“The conservatory orders are, in my view, necessary to prevent loss to the public coffers of sums that would be paid out and in the event the ultimate decision of the court is that the cause taken by the National Assembly is unconstitutional, would be difficult to recover,” he said.

The LSK moved to court to stop the National Assembly and its Speaker, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and the Controller of Budget from enforcing the decision by MPs to nullify the Kenya Gazette notices that had set the salaries at Sh532,000.

The Clerk of the National Assembly had certified the decision by issuing a certificate of nullification that declared that the salaries would be governed by the National Assembly and Remuneration Act, thus restoring the Sh851,000 that MPs in the previous House earned.

Mr Justice Majanja said that the certificate, if implemented, would result in serious consequences. The judge noted that a court should issue a conservatory order where there is real danger that the public will suffer violation of the Constitution and to preserve the integrity of the constitutional bodies.

“The balance is best maintained by the court stopping everything in its tracks. It is the Judiciary that has the ultimate authority to assert the supremacy of the constitution,” the judge ruled.