CJ Maraga is now required to empanel a bench of three judges to hear the matter. Photo/CM-FILE.
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 24 – The High Court has referred the suit challenging MPs move to award themselves a monthly Sh250,000 in allowances to Chief Justice David Maraga to constitute a three-judge bench.
Justice Weldon Korir directed the Registrar to forward the file to the Chief Justice for directions, with the case now set for mention on July 2.
He gave the parties 7 days to file their responses together with written submissions.
He further ruled that the interim orders stopping further payments of the allowance shall remain in force until the hearing and determination of the petitions both filed by the Salaries and Remunerations Commission (SRC) and activist Okiya Omtatah.
The commission moved to court seeking an order to stop the lawmakers from awarding themselves up to Sh3 million annually in additional allowances.
Through its lawyer Peter Wanyama, the commission filed the petition at the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court, seeking to stop further implementation of the house allowance and the recovery of the money paid to the MPs so far.
“The order sought is directed to the clerks of the Senate and National Assembly “to recover from…MPs any allowance paid pursuant to the illegal and unconstitutional decision of the respondents to pay house allowance outside the constitutional structure of remuneration and benefits of State officers in Parliament,” he stated.
In the alternative, the commission wanted the court to hold members of the PSC and secretary of the commission Jeremiah Nyegenye personally responsible for the payment of the allowances to MPs.
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