The High Court has prohibited the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) from cutting judges’ medical and daily allowances after ruling that it overstepped its mandate under the Constitution.
The court, in its judgment this week, set aside provisions of a letter written by the SRC in October 2023, which sought to slash optical and dental benefit cover for judges from Sh200,000 to Sh75,000 and the daily subsistence allowance from Sh25,000 to Sh18,000.
It ruled that such benefits are not part of remuneration paid to judges under Article 230 of the Constitution but are instead part of their ‘conditions of service’, which fall under the mandate of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to recommend.
“The mandate of the respondent (SRC) as far as judicial remuneration is concerned does not stretch to other conditions of service which include the review of all other benefits. This is the mandate of the second respondent (JSC). To act in this manner risks infringing the independence of the Judiciary guaranteed under Article 160.”
The petition was filed by citizen Marion Joy Onchagwa, challenging the decisions made by the SRC during the 2023 review cycle. The Kenya Judges Welfare Association has also supported the petition, arguing that such cuts would compromise occupational health, considering that judges often work with screens. The JSC was not involved in the proceedings.
The court ruled that the reasoning provided by the SRC to reduce these benefits as part of a wider effort to align benefits across all public institutions was unfounded. It found that the Judiciary had already reached agreements to increase medical cover through competitive tendering, using funds from its own budget. Therefore, the SRC had no right to make such changes.
The judges, however, also ruled that the petitioner’s arguments against an eight-million-shilling loan scheme to purchase a car at 3% interest over five years were unfounded. It ruled that there was no evidence of constitutional infringements or that monthly repayments of around Sh143,000 were inappropriate. The loan was available to all State Officers.
This decision comes amid a long-standing dispute between the SRC and the Judiciary over pay. A separate case regarding a ten-million-shilling taxable car allowance is currently before the Supreme Court.
Lawyers said the decision helps to clarify the line between the SRC’s remuneration role and the JSC’s mandate over conditions of service. It could prevent the SRC from making unilateral changes in the future. The SRC has yet to make any public comments on whether it will appeal.
– By John Murunga
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