Reprieve for pensioners as state agrees to pay up

The attorney general Githu Muigai. PHOTO / FILE  

By Benjamin Muindi bmuindi@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Thursday, July 19  2012 at  12:43

A group of retired teachers can breathe a sigh of relief after the Attorney General pledged to expedite payment of their Sh17 billion pension.

Prof Githu Muigai told the teachers he will facilitate a meeting with the Finance minister Njeru Githae next week to ensure that the matter is resolved.

“The State Law Office has considered the import of the decision of the High Court and that the government was duty bound to comply with the court order and pay up the teachers’ pension dues,” Prof Muigai said.

“I have advised the Director of Pensions, Controller of Budget and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance must pay the teachers,” Prof Muigai said after meeting a group of the teachers.

The group was following up on their pension dues awarded to them by the High Court in Nakuru.

They informed the AG that they had been misled into thinking that his office was the impediment or stumbling block to payment of their dues.

But Prof Muigai said he will expedite the process as the government was committed to sorting out the issue, since it had already included these dues in the current budget.

The retired teachers were awarded Sh17 billion pension arrears after their employer - The Teachers Service Commisssion (TSC) - told the High Court in Nakuru that it was willing to pay the money early this year.

The teachers sued TSC in 2006 claiming unpaid lump sum salary increment and accrued pension from July 1997.

They had moved to court seeking permission to commence a judicial review to compel TSC to pay them Sh17 billion as part of their pension arrears.

In their application, the former teachers asked the court to grant them leave to file a review to command the commission to pay part of the unpaid pension up to 2003 plus costs taxed, which stand at Sh382.6 million.

They also wanted the court to order TSC to pay legal fees to their lawyer Dominic Mukui Kimatta.

The High Court ordered TSC and the Director of Pensions in the Ministry of Finance to pay them pensions backdated to 1997.

The respondent was also ordered to liaise with the Director of Pensions to review the former teachers’ current pension to reflect the new rates.

The teachers won the case before Nakuru High Court judge David Maraga.

The judge ruled that all retired teachers covered by the agreement between the TSC and Knut were entitled to their retirement benefits.