Taxpayers could pay Sh15 billion annually for judges’ retirement perks, SRC warns
According to Njoka, the Bill’s wording seeks to make the SRC Act subservient to this Act, despite Article 172 (1) (b) (i) of the Constitution limiting the JSC to making recommendations on judges’ remuneration.
It could now cost taxpayers at least Sh15 billion annually to fund proposed increases in judges’ retirement benefits, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
The Judges Retirement Benefits Bill, 2025, which seeks to boost pension, transport and medical benefits for judges, has faced resistance from the SRC over concerns on fiscal sustainability and constitutional compliance.
More To Read
- From colonial cells to court reforms: A walk through Kenya’s Judiciary Museum preserving legal, freedom struggles
- Petition seeks removal of Chief Justice Martha Koome over alleged misconduct and delays
- CJ Koome recalls defending Raila during detention, hails his legacy of justice and courage
- Justice Matheka calls for increased funding to strengthen Kenya’s child justice system
- Court orders Kenya School of Law to admit student within 60 days
- Judiciary rolls out staff census in push for data-driven reforms
The proposed changes would apply to judges currently in office, those to be appointed after the law takes effect, and judges who retired after August 27, 2010, when the current Constitution was promulgated.
The Bill also seeks to grant the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) exclusive authority to recommend the retirement packages.
In a November 4, 2025, memorandum to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, acting SRC Chief Executive Margaret Njoka described the Bill as flawed, calling for amendments.
“The commission recommends that for purposes of equity and harmony in the definition of pensionable emoluments, the clause be amended to provide that ‘pensionable emoluments’ means the basic salary payable to a judge as set by the SRC,” Njoka wrote.
The SRC warned that if enacted in its current form, the Bill would amount to a “direct usurpation” of its constitutional mandate to set and regularly review remuneration and benefits for state officers, including judges. The proposed post-retirement transport and medical benefits, estimated at Sh1.74 billion in the first year, have not been reviewed by the SRC.
“The proposed review of retirement benefits for judges of superior courts constitutes a direct usurpation of SRC’s constitutional mandate to set and regularly review the remuneration and benefits of state officers, including retirement benefits,” Njoka said.
The Bill defines “pensionable emoluments” as the basic salary and house allowance payable to a judge, contrary to the SRC’s October 13, 2023, guidance to the JSC that pensionable emoluments should be based on the monthly basic salary.
According to Njoka, the Bill’s wording seeks to make the SRC Act subservient to this Act, despite Article 172 (1) (b) (i) of the Constitution limiting the JSC to making recommendations on judges’ remuneration.
“These benefits have not been assessed against the principle of fiscal sustainability as required under the Constitution and the SRC Act,” she said, warning that extending enhanced post-retirement benefits to judges may trigger demands from other state officers, putting further pressure on public finances.
The memorandum emphasised that judges of superior courts are state officers, like the president, the deputy president, cabinet secretaries, the chief justice and deputy CJ, MPs, governors and other independent office holders. As such, the SRC is the sole agency mandated to set and review its remuneration and benefits.
“Such uncoordinated enhancement of benefits for one category of state officers without comprehensive analysis of its implications for the entire public sector compensation framework contravenes the holistic approach that SRC’s constitutional mandate is designed to ensure,” Njoka noted.
The SRC also highlighted its role in reducing the country’s wage bill from 51 per cent to 43 per cent of annual revenue between 2019 and 2024, saving at least Sh70 billion a year, while noting that the Public Finance Management Act caps wage expenditure at 35 per cent of revenue.
“The SRC neither initiated the review nor set the retirement benefits proposed in the Bill,” the memorandum reads, highlighting the need for amendments to align the Bill with constitutional, fiscal and policy frameworks.
Top Stories Today
