The judicial sector is one of the highest-paying sectors in Kenya. Workers in this sector are responsible for interpreting and applying the law.
In this article, WoK looks at the salaries of Judges and magistrates in the country:
Supreme court
The Supreme Court is the highest court in Kenya. It is headquartered at the Supreme Court Building in Nairobi.
According to a 2021 report by Business Daily, the maximum salaries of the supreme court judges set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) are as follows:
Chief justice – sh 1.3 million.
Deputy Chief Justice – Sh1.23 million
Supreme Court judges – sh1.218 million.
Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal is the second highest court in Kenya. It handles appeal cases from other courts, except the Supreme Court.
It is comprised of the president of the Court of Appeal and 12- 30 judges. Their maximum salaries, as set by the SRC are Sh1,156,108.
High Court
Next up is the high court, which has jurisdictional supervision over subordinate courts in the country. The court is comprised of a principal judge and 34 other judges.
They earn a maximum monthly salary of sh 1,000,974.
Magistrates’ Courts
Located in all parts of the country, magistrate courts bear the brunt of the majority of judicial cases. Judges in this category are paid as follows:
Chief Magistrate – Sh732,000.
Senior principal magistrates – Sh 485,000.
Principal magistrates – Sh 365,000.
Senior resident magistrates – Sh 329,000.
Resident magistrates – Sh 195,000.
Allowances
Earlier this year, the SRC tabled a proposal to scrap off non-practicing allowances that were being paid to magistrates and judges.
SRC also proposed to scrap off their car grants and security allowances.
This sparked angry responses from the judges, who accused three commissioners who serve on the Judicial Service Commission of sleeping in their work instead of championing their financial welfare.
“We look forward to replacing them at the earliest possible time”, one judge, who requested anonymity, told The Star.
Before the scrap off, SRC had set the monthly non-practicing allowance for judges to Sh20,000, while magistrates and Kadhis earned Sh15,000.
The commission had also set the risk or security allowance for magistrates and Kadhis to Sh 20,000 a month. Judges do not enjoy security allowance because they have police guards.
The magistrates and Kadhis were also entitled to a monthly transport allowance of between Sh24,000 and Sh8,000 depending on the individual’s job category.
The Chief Magistrate/Kadhi received Sh24,000 while the senior principal magistrate received Sh20,000.
The principal magistrate received Sh16,000, the senior resident magistrate (Sh14,000), and the resident magistrate Sh8,000. Judges have official transport; hence they do not enjoy the financial benefit.
The allowances payable to judicial officers, in different categories, include house, transport, extraneous, entertainment, responsibility, risk/security, magistracy, and domestic servant.
Increase In Salary
Earlier this year, President Ruto directed SRC to increase the salaries of civil servants by 7-10 percent effective July 1, 2023.
The chief justice, judges, and magistrates were among the civil servants poised to enjoy the pay rise alongside principal secretaries, speakers of the national assembly and the senate, leaders of majority and minority, and the chairpersons of constitutional commissions.
