Retired teachers allowed to sue TSC over dues

 

By WANJIRU MACHARIA Lwmacharia@ke.nationmedia.com

Retired teachers can commence judicial review proceedings to compel their former employer to pay them more than Sh16 billion pension arrears.

This is after the High Court in Nakuru on Wednesday allowed them to file the suit after several attempts to make the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) pay the cash failed.

In the application filed on Thurday, the more than 51,000 teachers asked Mr Justice Anyara Emukule to allow them to move to a higher court after the TSC refused to give them their dues even after being ordered by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

They want to start a judicial review to compel the TSC to pay them Sh16.7 billion as part of their pension arrears up to 2003 plus costs taxed, which stand at Sh382.6 million.

They also want the court to order the TSC to pay another Sh3.34 billion as legal fees to their lawyer, Mr Dominic Mukui Kimatta.

In their affidavit, the retired teachers through their lawyer stated that the High Court had ordered the 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.

Mr Kimatta stated that the respondent had refused to implement the court orders, compelling his clients to seek further directives.

“The respondent has declined to settle Sh28.5 billion despite a judgment by the High Court,” he said in his affidavit.

He added that at one time, the Director of Pensions calculated unpaid retired teachers’ pension up to to 2003, which stood at Sh16.7 billion.