The Court of Appeal has upheld the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) directive on MPs’ house and sitting allowances, rejecting an appeal by the Parliamentary Service Commission (PARLSCOM).
In its ruling, the court found that PARLSCOM had overstepped its constitutional mandate by unilaterally approving a Ksh250,000 monthly house allowance for MPs without SRC’s authorization. The judges reinforced SRC’s authority in regulating allowances, stressing that its role is to ensure compliance with constitutional and budgetary guidelines.
The dispute arose when PARLSCOM attempted to introduce additional allowances for legislators, bypassing SRC’s remuneration framework. SRC opposed the move, arguing that it violated Article 230 of the Constitution, which grants the commission exclusive authority over determining salaries and benefits for State officers.
Previously, the High Court had ruled in favor of SRC, prompting PARLSCOM to appeal. However, the Court of Appeal noted that the case had since been overtaken by events, including the recovery of unlawfully paid house allowances for MPs over a one-year period, as directed by the High Court.
Additionally, SRC, in consultation with PARLSCOM, had since established official house and sitting allowances for MPs, rendering parts of the appeal irrelevant.
Addressing concerns that SRC had attempted to limit the number of committee sittings, the court clarified that the commission had only capped the maximum amount MPs could receive in sitting allowances each month, not the number of meetings they could hold.
“SRC has not capped the number of times committees can sit. It has capped the maximum allowances members can earn each month as house committee sitting allowance. Which means while the number of committee meetings members can attend are not capped, they cannot earn more in sitting allowances than prescribed by the SRC,” the ruling stated.
