Governors and their deputies’ have lost a bid to be paid Sh2.3 billion sendoff package after a judge dismissed a petition they had filed, stating that they failed to demonstrate that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) discriminated against them.
High Court judge Lawrence Mugambi dismissed the petition by Council of Governors (CoG) saying the court can only intervene if it is shown that SRC misused its discretion while carrying out its mandate.
The judge added that contrary to claims by CoG, the SRC had already set up retirement benefits in the form of gratuity payments for the outgoing governors.
“What the petitioner (CoG) is keen to extract from this court is an order compelling the commission to provide a defined benefit scheme.
“The Constitution has vested the respondent (SRC) the mandate to make such determination and not the courts,” ruled the judge.
The county chiefs had sought a lifetime monthly pension of Sh739 million with their deputies asking for Sh700 million, in line with payouts offered to retired presidents and their deputies.
SRC had opposed the bid stating it was not sustainable as it would cost taxpayers more than Sh2.3 billion for the first year alone.
The commission added that the proposal for pension and other benefits for governors and their deputies was not fiscally affordable and sustainable due to budgetary implications.
