Court summons TSC boss in pension case

Teachers Service Commission boss Nancy Macharia and her lawyer Lawrence Karanja in the High Court in Nakuru on June 16, 2016, to answer on a case concerning payment of pensions to retired teachers. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Justice Mulwa, who previously handled the case, is now expected to take over the matter and give further directions on the fate of the commission’s boss.
  • Mr Mbiuki said the committee comprising the Attorney-General, the pensions department, Treasury, TSC and other relevant government offices would meet soon to resolve the issue.

A High Court in Nakuru has summoned the director of pensions and the Teachers Service Commission boss to shed more light on why retired teachers had not received their money, as ordered by the Supreme Court on December 9, last year.

Justice Maureen Odero, while withdrawing from the case, ordered the two to present themselves before Justice Janet Mulwa on July 5.

Justice Odero disqualified herself from presiding over a contempt of court suit filed by the teachers saying she was not familiar with the case in which the retirees want the commission’s chief executive officer Nancy Macharia jailed for six months for failing to implement the court order.

Justice Mulwa, who previously handled the case, is now expected to take over the matter and give further directions on the fate of the commission’s boss.

“Since the matter has been in court for a long time, I will refer it back to the judge who is much familiar with it,” she directed.

The vicious court battle pits 52,000 retired teachers against the government over Sh42.3 billion pension arrears.

The court had on May 31 summoned Ms Macharia to explain why she should not be committed to jail for contempt of court.

Ms Macharia appeared in court last week accompanied by the secretary, Legislative Affairs and Regulatory Compliance in the Office of the President, Mr Jasper Mbiuki, and they jointly assured the retirees that the government was committed to clearing the debt.

The court heard that a team had been formed to speed up the payment, following a directive from President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mr Mbiuki said the committee comprising the Attorney-General, the pensions department, Treasury, TSC and other relevant government offices would meet soon to resolve the issue.

He also confirmed that Sh3 billion had been approved by the National Assembly for settling part of the debt. Ms Macharia is required in court for the second time.

But the teachers’ lawyer, Mr Dominic Kimata, told the court that he had read mischief in the manner in which the matter was being handled.

He has opposed the deferral of Ms Macharia’s committal to jail. “The court is being treated to the same music that the retirees have been made to dance to for the last more than 10 years,” he said.

Mr Kimata further claimed in court that a ‘cartel’ within the government was frustrating the retirees’ efforts to get their money.