Judges and magistrates to earn more
SRC chairperson Lyn Cherop Mengich (centre). She said the SRC had received a confirmation from the governors and the Treasury that they do not have money to pay the nurses. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Judges of the Court of Appeal will now have a maximum salary of Sh1,156,108 while those of the High Court are to get Sh1,000,974 from an initial Sh1,122,759 and Sh907,279 respectively.
- Chief Magistrates are expected to earn Sh727,035 and Senior Resident Magistrates Sh324,000 from initial figures of Sh650,253 and Sh300,000 respectively.
- Currently, only Chief Justice David Maraga, his deputy Philomena Mwilu, Principal Judge Lydia Achode get paid Sh150, 000 as special judicial duty allowance.
The Salaries and Remuneration Commission has revised the pay for judicial officers. This follows the filing of a petition challenging salary disparities between judges and magistrates.
“The commission, during its meeting held on December 10, deliberated on the issues raised by the JSC and hereby reviews the remuneration and benefits set by the earlier circulars,” said SRC chief executive officer Anne Gitau.
In a letter dated December 17 to the Chief Registrar, judges of the Court of Appeal will now have a maximum salary of Sh1,156,108 while those of the High Court are to get Sh1,000,974 from an initial Sh1,122,759 and Sh907,279 respectively.
Chief Magistrates are expected to earn Sh727,035 and Senior Resident Magistrates Sh324,000 from initial figures of Sh650,253 and Sh300,000 respectively.
PAY RISE
“The remuneration for judges and magistrates set shall supersede the ones set by SRC and communicated in letters dates April 30, 2014, June 10, 2013 and August 18, 2017,” said Ms Gitau in the letter.
SRC has indicated that it has left it to the Judicial Service Commission to develop guidelines to implement the new salary structure.
SRC also said that, with the pay rise, there are still exists overlaps between remuneration scales for both judges and magistrates in line with guidelines which are yet to be operationalised.
The new pay structure will now see remuneration and benefits paid to judges backdated to July 1, 2017.
The new pay structure will also see judges and only magistrates heading stations getting paid for additional special judicial responsibilities up to a maximum of Sh150,000 per month.
SPECIAL DUTY ALLOWANCE
Currently, only Chief Justice David Maraga, his deputy Philomena Mwilu, Principal Judge Lydia Achode get paid Sh150, 000 as special judicial duty allowance.
Resident judges also get Sh130,000 while heads of stations get 20 per cent of their basic salary for this allowance. But even with the pay rise, magistrates still feel left out as their new salaries have not been spelt out clearly.
Currently, a senior principal magistrate’s entry package is Sh334,125 and can get to a maximum of Sh480,000 while that of a principal magistrate starts from Sh225,000 but cannot exceed Sh360,000.
The letter did not state their new salaries and only indicated that all other issues submitted by JSC have been deferred pending further analysis and consultation.
