This archive report was first published on 22 July 2019.
Published on July 22, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed Treasury to allocate 1.5B shillings in the coming financial year for pensions of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and retired Vice-Presidents, including Kalonzo Musyoka.
This move is seen as a change of heart by the President, who has been under constant pressure to not only stop working with Raila Odinga but also to denounce the handshake, due to Raila being a political rival.
According to the new directive, Mr. Odinga and Mr. Musyoka will be entitled to a lump sum pay of Sh8.64 million, Sh720,000 in monthly pension for their entire life, and Sh108,000 in fuel allowance every month, in addition to other lavish benefits like fully furnished offices and 17 workers, including chefs, accountants, secretaries, and personal assistants, at taxpayers' expense.
This is a significant change from the past, when the President refused to assent to a bill that would have given Mr. Musyoka and Mr. Odinga the hefty perks, citing their participation in active politics, in 2015.
It is worth noting that Raila and Kalonzo currently earn a monthly pension of nearly Sh200,000 for the multiple terms they served as MPs for Lang'ata and Mwingi North constituencies respectively. The MPs' pension will be stopped once the two start accessing the benefits for their pensions.
