Court Upholds Ksh 5.7M Award to Ex-Kirinyaga Deputy Governor
The County had lodged an appeal by way of a Memorandum of Appeal dated 5th November 2024 against a judgment of the trial court
They were authoritative. The contention that the respondent's consolidated pay of Ksh 621,250 was made up of housing was therefore defective and against binding SRC guidelines. Photo/ Courtesy
By Juliet Jerotich
Kirinyaga County Government has been dealt a significant blow in the law after the Nyeri Employment and Labour Relations Court affirmed an earlier judgment to pay former Deputy Governor Peter Ndambiri Ksh 5.7 million in housing allowances.
The County had lodged an appeal by way of a Memorandum of Appeal dated 5th November 2024 against a judgment of the trial court that had granted Ndambiri the compensation. The county argued that the trial magistrate was in law mistaken in granting the amount, arguing that Ndambiri was already adequately compensated by way of a consolidated salary as stipulated in the gazette notice.
But in a full judgment, Justice Onesmus Makau dismissed the county’s arguments, ruling that circulars issued by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) on August 25, 2017, and May 20, 2019, were legally binding on all county governments.
The SRC housing circulars to state officers such as deputy governors were not advisory opinions or recommendations—They were authoritative. The contention that the respondent’s consolidated pay of Ksh 621,250 was made up of housing was therefore defective and against binding SRC guidelines,” Justice Makau ruled.
The court noted that the circulars tasked counties with either offering deputy governors an official residence or obtaining a rented house, for which the rental fee was capped at Ksh 90,000 monthly. For Ndambiri, there was no proof that Kirinyaga County had offered him either of the two from September 2017 until he left office in August 2022.
Referring to a case of precedence in Petition No. 328 of 2016, Justice Makau emphasized that deputy governors are also entitled to housing allowances like any other state officers. “The county had two patently obvious alternatives: offer an official residence or lease a house at the prescribed monthly rent. It did neither for a period of 60 consecutive months, thus deserving the respondent the compensation equivalent to the SRC-recommended rent,” he ruled.
The judge held that the Ksh 5.7 million award issued by the trial court was supported by evidence and as per the law and did not have a basis for the appeal. “I find no merit in the appeal. The ruling by the trial court has to hold,” he decided.
The ruling cements Ndambiri’s entitlement and places Kirinyaga County under obligation to pay the full award, a move likely to put additional financial pressure on the devolved unit’s budget.
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