Members of the National Assembly are now pushing for the implementation of a salary increment frozen at the height of youth-led protests in June 2024.
The MPs used the special sitting called to approve seven nominees for appointment to the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to push for a pay rise.
The MPs approved the nomination of Sammy Chepkwony for appointment as chairperson of SRC and members Maj-Gen (Rtd) Martin Kizito Ong’onyi (nominated by Defence Council), Mohamed Aden Abdi (picked by Senate on behalf of counties), Jane Gatakaa Njage (nominated by the Teachers Service Commission), Dr Gilda Odera (nominated by the Federation of Kenya Employers), Dr Geoffrey Apollo Omondi (nominated by the Central Organisation of Trade Unions) and Leonid Ashindu (nominated by Association of Professional Societies in East Africa).
The protests, which saw the youth Parliament breached for the first time in Kenya’s history on June 25, 2024, forced MPs to reject the proposed automatic rise in their pay.
The nationwide revolt also forced President William Ruto to drop the controversial Finance Bill 2024 that had included tax increases.
Following the protests, then SRC chairperson Lyn Mengich was also forced to freeze the salary increments for State officers due to “the current realities of the economy”.
The SRC had earlier recommended a pay raise of between two percent and five percent for all State officers, including judges and MPs.
MPs and Senators, whose salary is Sh725,502 would have had their pay raised to Sh739,600 monthly. Kenyan lawmakers are some of the highest-paid in the world.
MPs who contributed to the debate on the approval of seven nominees to the SRC asked the new commissioners to harmonise all public service salaries and not just target their pay and perks.
Citing the move by the SRC to freeze their pay raise due to the protests, National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah warned the new team against taking such decisions.
“They wanted to play populist politics and pit MPs against members of the public when they published the normal annual increment of MPs during the Gen Z protests. MPs like other Kenyans deserve a pay rise,” he said.
National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed said there is a misconception in the SRC that it was created to deal with politicians’ salaries.
He demanded that the new commission should start on a new slate and look at the public wage bill holistically and harmonise it.
“Don’t gazette salaries mischievously. Do it early so that people who want to be MPs decide whether they want to continue or not. Spare our salaries…We pay school fees, and contribute to weddings, burials and other social issues,” he said.
Rarieda MP Otiende Amolo told the new SRC to focus on the work an MP does and not the minimum qualifications in setting their salaries.
“The Gen Zs pushed us to reject the salary increase that was to take effect in July 2024 when we really needed an increment. We had to go back to our constituents to say we reject the salary rise,” said Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohamed.
“The salaries we earn go to the communities we serve...We spend the entire money we earn here on the people who vilify us.”
Imenti North MP Raheem Dawood said it is not easy for one to make it to the House and therefore lawmakers’ remuneration should not be a subject of conversation and ridicule.
Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma said lawmakers need a peaceful relationship with the SRC, warning the commission against encroaching on the mandate of other commissions like the Parliamentary Ser-vice Commission.
Labour committee chairman Eric Muchangi said: “The message is very clear; do your job, which is not just to target politicians. Check the wage bill in the entire public service.”
Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo said the previous commission had an antagonistic relationships with MPs on pay.
“The previous commission demonised MPs and made us look like people who never went to school and don’t deserve a decent pay,” he said.
