The Court of Appeal has upheld the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) advice on the payment of house allowances and the capping of sitting allowances for Members of Parliament (MPs), dismissing an appeal filed by the Parliamentary Service Commission (PARLSCOM).
In a ruling, the appellate court found that PARLSCOM had overstepped its constitutional mandate by unilaterally approving a Ksh250,000 monthly house allowance for MPs without SRC’s authorisation.
The court also affirmed SRC’s authority in regulating allowances to ensure compliance with constitutional and budgetary provisions.
The legal battle began after PARLSCOM sought to bypass SRC’s remuneration framework by introducing additional allowances for MPs.
SRC challenged the move, arguing that it violated Article 230 of the Constitution, which grants the commission exclusive jurisdiction over the determination of salaries and benefits for State officers.
The High Court had earlier ruled in favor of SRC leading to an appeal by PARLSCOM.
However, the Court of Appeal noted that the appeal had been overtaken by events, including the recovery of funds unlawfully paid to MPs for house allowance over a one-year period, as per the High Court’s directive.
Additionally, SRC had in consultation with PARLSCOM, since set official house and sitting allowances for MPs, rendering part of the appeal moot.
Addressing the commission’s contention that SRC had attempted to regulate the number of committee sittings, the court clarified that the commission had not limited the number of meetings MPs could hold but had merely capped the maximum amount payable as a sitting allowance per month.
“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 reads.
