This archive report was first published on 11 September 2019.
On September 11, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta rejected a bid by Members of Parliament to increase their travel allowances.
The move was contained in a memo sent to the National Assembly, where Kenyatta indicated that assenting to the bill would be a violation of the Constitution.
According to the memo, MPs failed to engage the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) before passing the law on July 4, 2019.
The Constitution mandates SRC to regularly evaluate and review the remuneration and benefits of all State and public officers.
President Kenyatta advised the deletion of clause 20(2) of the Bill, which sought to give the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) the powers to review travel allowances without seeking advisory from SRC.
MPs can overturn the presidential memorandum if at least two-thirds majority or 233 of the 349 National Assembly members vote to reverse it.
President Kenyatta said in the memo, 'In the exercise of powers conferred on me by Article 115 (1) (b) of the Constitution, I refuse to assent to the Parliamentary Service Bill, 2019, for the reasons set out.'
