The Kenyan Judiciary is facing scrutiny over billions in unregulated allowances paid to judges and other top judicial officers. The controversy stems from a July 23, 2019, circular that established new per diem rates, significantly higher than those set by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC).

• Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice were allocated a daily local per diem of Ksh30,000.
• The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament pressured the Judiciary for answers on why it deviated from SRC guidelines.
• Auditor General Nancy Gathungu flagged the payments as irregular in a report on the Judiciary’s financial statements for June 30, 2023.
• Chief Registrar Winfridah Mokaya defended the rates, stating they were pegged to those of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) and based on prior benchmarking by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
• MPs dismissed the comparison, demanding evidence of the legal basis and benchmarking methodology from the Judiciary.