This archive report was first published on 5 August 2020.
On August 5, 2020, the Kenyan Parliament made a significant move to increase the pension of former Members of Parliament (MPs) who served between 1984 and 2001.
The proposed amendments to the Parliamentary Pensions Act, tabled by Minority Leader John Mbadi, aim to provide a more substantial pension to former MPs who have been earning relatively low amounts.
According to Mbadi, the proposed payments will not significantly burden Kenyans, especially after the removal of a clause that required the payments to be backdated to 2010.
He estimated that the annual cost of financing the payments to the approximately 150 former MPs would be around Ksh.144 million.
Most MPs supported the Bill, urging President Uhuru Kenyatta to sign the Parliamentary Pensions (Amendment) Bill, 2019 into law.
Minority Whip Junet Mohammed expressed sympathy for the former MPs, saying, “When you look at some of these MPs, when you see their shoes you feel sympathy for them, we must support this bill, any of us could be former MP anytime.”
However, Former Majority Leader Aden Duale raised concerns that the Bill could lead to victimization of parliamentarians, who are already not in good books with the public.
Additionally, Duale warned that other civil servants might demand an increase in their pensions following the passage of the Bill.
Meanwhile, Mwatate MP Andrew Mwadime plans to table a separate Bill to ensure that MPs who served one term will also be eligible for a pension.
