This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
On December 19, 2019, the High Court ruled in favor of judges hired from outside the Judiciary, ordering the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to increase their monthly pay by at least Sh100,000.
The ruling, made by Justice George Odunga, came after the court heard that judges hired from private practice started with a basic salary of Sh532,500 per month and a non-practising allowance of Sh13,500, while those promoted from magistrates started with a pay of Sh632,000 and a non-practising allowance of Sh13,500.
Justice Odunga noted that judges recruited from within or outside the Judiciary perform similar tasks and that failing to harmonise their remuneration was a breach of the SRC's constitutional and statutory mandate.
The ruling means that the Judiciary will have to add at least Sh100,000 to the pay of judges hired from private practice, with some receiving close to Sh6 million given that they were hired in 2014.
Justice Odunga further ruled that the appointment of a High Court judge was a substantive appointment and not a promotion from the position of a magistrate or any other office, and that judges must be entitled to similar starting salaries and benefits.
