Dr Willy Mutunga, the former Chief Justice. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Summary
- Dr Mutunga’s golden retirement nest is feathered by a monthly pension equivalent of 80 per cent of his last salary.
- The former top judge is also entitled to a saloon car and a four-wheel drive vehicle, both of which will come with drivers and fuel allowance equivalent to 15 per cent of the monthly pay of the serving CJ.
- The fuel allowance and pension guarantees Dr Mutunga a lifetime monthly pay of about Sh1.25 million — almost equivalent to the basic salary of the Deputy President.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed into
law a Bill that offers retired Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and Kalpana
Rawal, who served as his deputy, more than Sh1 million in monthly
retirement perks.
The new retirements benefits law
places the former Judiciary bosses in the exclusive club of retired
State officers taking home millions of shillings for old age comfort and
whose membership includes former Presidents Daniel arap Moi and Mwai
Kibaki.
Under the Retirement Benefits (Deputy President
and Designated State Officers) Amendment Bill, 2016 that Mr Kenyatta
signed into law yesterday, Dr Mutunga’s golden retirement nest is
feathered by a monthly pension equivalent of 80 per cent of his last
salary, a lump sum five times his last pay or about Sh6 million,
security, medical insurance and a diplomatic passport for himself and
spouse.
The
former top judge is also entitled to a saloon car and a four-wheel
drive vehicle, both of which will come with drivers and fuel allowance
equivalent to 15 per cent of the monthly pay of the serving CJ. The
vehicles will be replaced after every four years.
Taxpayers
will also cater for maintenance of the vehicles at dealerships besides
offering Dr Mutunga one personal assistant, one secretary, one
housekeeper, one senior support staff, one gardener and one cleaner at
the State’s expense.
The fuel allowance and pension
guarantees Dr Mutunga a lifetime monthly pay of about Sh1.25 million —
almost equivalent to the basic salary of the Deputy President.
The basic salary of the Chief Justice currently stands
at Sh1,380,351 excluding other perks, according to the Salaries and
Remuneration Commission (SRC).
Ms Rawal will also take
home pension equivalent of 80 per cent of her last salary, government
vehicles, medical insurance and diplomatic passports.
The
DCJ earned Sh1.23 million monthly, meaning she is set to receive a lump
sum five times his last pay or about Sh4.9 million.
Justice
Rawal left the Judiciary in acrimonious circumstances having lost a
bruising battle to remain on the bench until she is 74 years.
It
is the legal battle that saw Dr Mutunga deliver his last ruling as the
Supreme Court President and judge, effectively sending his deputy on
retirement. The Constitution requires Judges to retire at 70.
Dr Mutunga retired on June 16, 2016 after serving for five years and was replaced by Justice David Maraga.
Lavish benefits
Dr
Mutunga announced in June last year that he will be taking up a new job
as Commonwealth Special Envoy to Maldives, where he was expected to aid
in the process of constitutional and political transition.
Critics
reckon that the lavish benefits offered to former top State officers
are excessive given that most are wealthy individuals holding vast
amounts of property.
After leaving office, Dr Mutunga
publicly declared he was worth Sh80 million. He added that he earned a
net salary of Sh50 million in the five years served as chief justice.
Retirement
benefits of former presidents have come under sharp criticism,
especially in the last couple of years when allocations were increased
by large margins even as the State insisted it had put in place
austerity measures.
Mr Kibaki’s and Moi’s pensions are
set to increase by 15.6 per cent next year to Sh74 million. If shared
equally, the package assures each retired president a monthly payout of
Sh3 million — a figure that is higher than Mr Kenyatta’s official salary
of Sh1.5 million.
The High Court last year stopped
payment of allowances worth millions of shillings to the former leaders,
after declaring them an unnecessary burden to the taxpayer. The
Attorney-General appealed the decision, allowing the two to continue
enjoying the hefty allowances.
Mr Kibaki signed the
allowances into law two weeks before his retirement, effectively
awarding himself millions of shillings on his way out.
No comments :
Post a Comment