Uproar as Kenyans to contribute Sh2,000 to NSSF up from Sh200

Kenyan employees will be required to contribute at least Sh2,000 to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) from their salaries beginning this month, an increase from the current Sh200.

Appeal court Judges Hannah Okwengu, Mohammed Warsame, and John Mativo  ruled that the NSSF Act of 2013, which sought to raise monthly contributions from Sh200 to Sh2,000, is legal.

“We find that the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) made a mistake in declaring the Act unconstitutional when it had no jurisdiction to question validity of the law as that was a preserve of the High Court,” ruled the judges.

In September 2022, the Labour and Employment Relations Court declared the bid unconstitutional, null and void stating that the NSSF Act,2013 violated the Constitution because there was no public participation prior to its enactment.

The judges however agreed that enactment of the NSSF Act, 2013 did not require participation of the Senate and that the employment and labour court judges made an error by failing to establish that the Act did not interfere with functions of county governments.

“The decision declaring the NSSF Act, 2013 unconstitutional for failure to involve the Senate in its enactment was not supported by the law. On this ground, we hold that the judgment cannot be allowed to stand,” ruled the judges.

The decision also comes after President William Ruto publicly stated that the amount should be increased in order for Kenyan employees to save a reasonable amount.

President Ruto said that he had agreed with NSSF to talk to the court and reconsider the ruling.

“We cannot continue to borrow from other people’s savings. We must use our savings to build our country. “Let us borrow from our savings so that we can pay our lenders interest,” Ruto said.