Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will be entitled to retirement perks even with the fact that he is still in active politics, a three-bench judge has ruled.
This means that Raila alongside former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka will by law, be entitled to get the retirement perks as stipulated in the Retirement and Benefits Act.
In 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta refused to sign their perks, arguing that the two were still in active politics.
Justices Wilfrida Okwany, Pauline Nyamweya and John Mativo ruled that retirement benefits for presidents and their deputies, facilities put in place for them and privileges they enjoy cannot be varied to their disadvantage during their lifetime.
The contested section had ruled out retirement pay for any person who holds a position of a Deputy President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Speaker, Chief Justice or Deputy Chief Justice after January 1, 1993, who held a political office or is active in politics.
“A declaration be and is hereby issued that section 4 of the Retirement Benefits (Deputy President and Designated State Officers) Act, 2015 is unconstitutional on grounds that it offends the doctrine of separation of powers and the common law principles of ambiguity, uncertainty, vagueness, unreasonableness, double jeopardy and retrospective application,” the judges ruled.
Despite the latest ruling, Uhuru had already reconciled with Raila and the state is in the process of preparing for the perks even before the declaration.
It's not clear if Raila will contest in 2022 polls. Last year, he was appointed the African Union High Representative for Infrastructural Development.