This archive report was first published on 16 November 2019.
November 16, 2019, marked a day when Kenyan taxpayers' financial contributions to Mama Ngina Kenyatta became public knowledge. According to documents obtained by Business Daily, Mama Ngina receives a monthly salary of more than Sh500,000, with the amount being tax-free.
As per the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act of 2003, Mama Ngina's salary is exempted from tax. The Act provides a legal framework for payment of pensions to former Presidents and their surviving spouses. It states that 'upon the death of a serving President or of a retired President who is in receipt of or who is entitled to a pension under this Act, his surviving spouse shall be entitled to benefits amounting to fifty percent of such pension.'
However, the legality of the payment to Mama Ngina is being questioned. Her husband, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, passed away in 1978, and at that time, there was no existing law on the pension and benefits that his widow would be entitled to. The 2003 law can be applied to Mama Ngina, but it is unclear whether it can be backdated to apply to her situation.
Former presidents are entitled to a monthly pension that is equal to 80 percent of the current President's salary. President Uhuru's monthly salary is Sh1.44 million, which translates to Sh1.15 million pension entitlements for former Presidents. Mama Ngina's salary is 50 percent of the pension that Mzee Jomo Kenyatta would be earning if he was alive.
