• Chief Justice Martha Koome appointed Justices Chacha Mwita, Lawrence Mugambi and Patricia Nyaundi to deal with the petition submitted to the court through one Peter Gachuiri (pétionnaire).
• The filed petition is challenging SRC’s decision to scrap the taxable car allowances for Judges.
The High Court is expected to hear the case of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s (SRC) resolution to abolish car allowance for judges.
Chief Justice Martha Koome has appointed Justices Chacha Mwita, Lawrence Mugambi and Patricia Nyaundi to deal with the petition submitted to the court through one Peter Gachuiri (pétionnaire).
The filed petition is challenging SRC’s decision to scrap the taxable car allowances for Judges.
At the court’s most recent hearing, the three justices said an initial proposal put forward by the Attorney General’s office that the case would be dealt with through the Employment and Employment Relations Tribunal (ELRC) would be heard today.
The GA contends that the claim arises from the benefits derived from an employment relationship and that it must be known through the ELRC.
Judges obtained subsidies for taxable cars until 2021, when they were abolished by the Wages and Compensation Commission.
The Wage and Compensation Commission (SRC) said judges already enjoy a comfortable lifestyle by being entitled to official chauffeured transportation as part of their benefits and that the car subsidy would amount to doubling the refund of taxpayers’ money.
The judges, through the Kenya Judges’ Welfare Association, supported the petition and said the car allowance is a mandatory benefit to help them in their tasks and personal use.
The association’s president, Judge Kossy Bor, swore in her affidavit that this is a service that judges have enjoyed since 2008 and that the SRC’s decision to abolish it constitutes discrimination, given that other state workers benefit from the same service.
“This discriminates against judges given that the SRC has identified existing auto subsidies for members of the legislature, executive, independent offices, and commissions, while seeking to override what is owed to judges,” Bor said.
Separately, a court in Makadara will be informed whether police have concluded their investigation into John Matara, the main suspect in the murder of socialite Starlet Wahu.
Matara appeared in court in Mkadara 7 days ago, but the police asked that he be detained pending further investigation of the case. He was scheduled to return to court today.
The investigation revealed that Matara had rented an apartment for a short term in the domain and had taken Wahu, whom she had met on a dating site, to the space for a night out.
He was arrested at Mbagathi Hospital moments after allegedly stabbing Wahu in an apartment in South B, Nairobi.
He told police he disagreed with the woman who had the fatal fight in the room.
Wahu’s body was discovered on the morning of January 4 on the fourth floor of the apartment after the guard reported seeing the suspect fleeing with blood stained clothes.
The owner of the premises who had let it out to Wahu and Matara for a night used a spare key to unlock the house, which had been locked from the outside, only to stumble on the horrifying scene of the deceased’s body sprawled on the floor.
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