Blow To MPs After Court of Appeal Ruling On Ksh250K House & Sitting Allowances
The Commission had contested PSC's decision in the High Court and won, leading to the recovery of the already disbursed housing allowances.
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
The Court of Appeal has handed Members of Parliament (MPs) a bitter defeat after ruling that the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) does not have the mandate to set allowances for MPs at Ksh250,000, against a recommendation by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
In a case stemming from the decision to grant MPs a Ksh250,000 housing allowance in 2018, the Court ruled that determining allowances falls under the mandate of the SRC.
The Commission had contested PSC's decision in the High Court and won, leading to the recovery of the already disbursed housing allowances.
However, dissatisfied with the High Court ruling, PSC appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, where the case was heard by Justices Gatembu Kairu, Francis Tuiyott, and Jessie Lesiit.
An image of the Court of Appeal buildings. /FILE
"The appellants in their own confession before us admitted that the judgment of the superior court has been fully complied with and all payments made to MPs under the ‘accommodation/facilitation/house allowance’ fully deducted from the MPs' salaries.
"That action settles the finality of the compromise reached by the parties leaving no room to challenge the issue of house allowance. There is therefore left nothing for us to determine in that regard," read the statement in part.
Furthermore, the Court of Appeal ruled that SRC did not violate the law by setting a limit on the sitting allowances paid to MPs. PSC had argued that imposing a cap would restrict the number of sittings that could be held.
However, the SRC objected to the increase in the two allowances, arguing that the PSC had approved the incentives without following the constitutional framework for remuneration.
"The gazette notice that resulted from the compromise aforestated is itself clear that the SRC has not capped the number of times committees can sit," read the ruling in part.
"It has capped the maximum allowances members can earn each month as house committee sitting allowance. This means while the number of committee meetings members can attend is not capped, they cannot earn more in sitting allowances than prescribed by the SRC."
