The High Court has declared unconstitutional a decision by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to cut judges' medical and travel benefits, The Standard reported. Justice Roselyne Aburili found that SRC went beyond its constitutional mandate. She said it encroached on the role of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and violated the independence of the Judiciary.
The judge quashed SRC's October 13, 2023 letter to the extent that it affected benefits other than pay for judges, judicial officers and Judiciary staff. Under that letter, judges' optical and dental covers were each cut from KSh 200,000 to KSh 75,000. Their daily subsistence allowance (DSA) for official travel dropped from KSh 25,000 to KSh 18,000.
Aburili ruled that the Constitution gives SRC power over remuneration only. Other conditions of service belong to the JSC. She held that DSA is not part of remuneration, so setting it fell outside SRC's mandate. The Special Judicial Duty Allowance also falls under the JSC because not all judges and staff receive it. She further found that SRC breached Article 160(4), which bars changes to judges' benefits to their disadvantage.
The petitioner did not win on every point. The judge rejected complaints about the KSh 30,000 monthly transport allowance and the car loan facility. She said there was not enough evidence that the allowance was inadequate or that the loans violated constitutional rights.
Marion Joy Onchagwa filed the petition, backed by the Kenya Judges Welfare Association. She argued that the Judiciary had negotiated its medical insurance through competitive procurement. The premiums came from its budget approved by Parliament, at no extra cost to the public, she said.
SRC argued that the case belonged in the Employment and Labour Relations Court, not the High Court. It said Article 230(4) empowers it to set and review the pay and benefits of all State officers, including judges. The commission said the medical cover had always been KSh 75,000. It added that the Judiciary negotiated the KSh 200,000 cover without its involvement. It also denied cutting the DSA, saying it never approved the KSh 25,000 rate. It had standardised the allowance at KSh 18,000 across public institutions, it said.
SRC now plans to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal. "Allowances and benefits attached to a state officer fall within SRC's mandate, whether or not they are also described as conditions of service," the commission said.