The high court has ruled that Members of County Assemblies will be paid monthly salary and applicable emoluments for eight months until March 4, 2018 when their five year term expires.
Justice Edward Muriithi ruled that under the law, the five-year term for current MCAs comes to an end in March and thus they are entitled to an order of payment as damages for loss of income for the uncompleted term of office
The Judgment was in a case filed by two MCAs, Andrew Kiplimo Sang, Richard Ouma and County Assembly Forum where they challenged on the general election date with regard to the election of MCAs appointed on August 8, 2017.
They claimed that the tenure of the members of County Assemblies (MCAs) unlike that of the members of parliament was fixed as a term of five years.
They contended that the effect of the holding of the general election on the August 8 2017 as announced by IEBC is unconstitutionally to reduce the term by eight months.
They sought a declaration that IEBC had no mandate to cut short the term of the MCAs and therefore that the appointed election date of August 8 was unconstitutional.
According to them, the appropriate election date for MCAs would be March 4, 2018 which is five years from the last election date.
They contended that in accordance with article 255, the term of the MCAs term could only be altered by an amendment to the constitution through a referendum.
They wanted compensation in salary for the period by which the MCAs term is reduced by reasons of the election being held on the date of 2nd Tuesday of August 2017.
In a Judgment read on his behalf by high court Judge Chacha Mwita, Justice Muriithi agreed with them but noted that the court must look for the interpretation that does least damage to the constitutional framework.
“If effect is given to the provision requiring five year tenure of the county assembly, it would mean that elections of the members of county assembly would always be held separately,” he ruled.
The judge stated that the duty to pay for the loss of income suffered by MCAs must be borne by the taxpayer
