Judges secured a significant victory on Friday when the High Court ruled that they are entitled to a Ksh 10m car allowance, which had previously been revoked by the Salaries and Renumeration Commission (SRC).
In a judgement delivered by Justices Chacha Mwita, Patricia Nyaundi, and Lawrence Mugambi, the court declared that the SRC’s letter dated July 12, 2021, revoking this benefit for judges, was unconstitutional and therefore null and void.
The judges stated that the move interferes with the independence of the judiciary and ordered the National Treasury to process and continue to pay the benefit to judges.
“A declaration on tax car allowance for private use for judges has been in existence, and it’s a benefit to judges and can’t be varied,” the court noted.
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SRC had in February this year pleaded for the case challenging the decision to scrap car allowance for judges be taken for mediation.
Through lawyer Peter Wanyama, the commission argued before the court that judges cannot hear and determine a matter in which they have a personal interest.
“Can a judge sit on a matter where they have peculiar interests? The decree will be to the judges, not to the petitioner,” Wanyama argued then.
However, lawyer Issa Mansour, appearing for the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), requested the court to dismiss the SRC’s application and allow the matter to be heard and determined.
