The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nyeri has upheld a Sh5.7 million award to former Kirinyaga Deputy Governor Peter Ndambiri for unpaid housing allowance, rejecting an appeal by the county government.
The appeal, filed on November 5, 2024, sought to overturn a trial court ruling on the grounds that Ndambiri had already been compensated through a consolidated salary package.
Justice Onesmus Makau dismissed this claim, citing legally binding directives from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).
“Accordingly, I find that Circulars by the SRC on the Housing Benefits for the State Officers in Counties and Deputy Governors dated August 25, 2017 and May 20, 2019 were not mere suggestions or recommendations to the Appellant but they were legally binding on it,” he stated.
The judge noted that the county’s argument that Ndambiri’s monthly salary of Sh621,250 included housing was contrary to the binding SRC guidelines and therefore invalid.
The court highlighted that Kirinyaga County failed to provide either an official residence or a leased house capped at Sh90,000 per month, an obligation ignored throughout Ndambiri’s five-year term from September 2017 to August 2022.
“The Appellant had the option of allocating an official residence or leased house for monthly rent capped at Sh90,000. It failed to do so for sixty months. The failure to exercise the above two options entitled the Respondent to compensation equaling to the monthly rent of Sh90,000 advised by the SRC,” the ruling noted.
Justice Makau also referenced Petition No.328 of 2016, which affirmed that deputy governors are entitled to housing benefits like other state officers.
He concluded that the trial court’s earlier award of Sh5.7 million was “supported by the evidence on record and it must stand,” finding no merit in the county’s appeal.
The ruling reinforces the enforceability of SRC directives and underscores the obligations of county governments to provide housing benefits to deputy governors and other state officers.
