High Court awards retired NPSC commissioner Sh45.8m over stopped salary
Key points
- High Court found the State unlawfully stopped salary and medical benefits of Dr Maj (Rtd) Shadrack Mutia Muiu while he remained an NPSC commissioner.
- Award: Sh35.784 million withheld salary plus Sh10 million general damages (Sh45.784m total, excluding interest and costs).
- Pay was stopped from March 2014 after a stroke on official duty; no Article 251 tribunal was ever constituted.
- Justice Patricia Nyaundi held administrative shortcuts cannot replace the constitutional removal process.
A stroke on official duty, a salary cut on a sickbed, and a constitutional process that never happened: the High Court has ordered the State to pay a retired National Police Service Commission commissioner nearly Sh46 million for unlawfully stopping his pay, Eastleigh Voice reported from the judgment of Justice Patricia Nyaundi.
The court ruled that the constitutional rights of Dr Major (Rtd) Shadrack Mutia Muiu were violated when the National Police Service Commission (NPSC) and the National Treasury discontinued his remuneration without following the procedure required to remove a commissioner. The award is Sh35.784 million in withheld salary and Sh10 million in general damages — Sh45.784 million total, excluding interest and legal costs.
From Kibaki appointment to an unfinished tribunal path
Muiu was appointed by former President Mwai Kibaki as an NPSC commissioner in October 2012. Months into a six-year term, he suffered a stroke while on an official benchmarking trip covering Sweden, the United Kingdom and Germany, was treated in the UK, then transferred to Nairobi Hospital with advice for prolonged treatment and limited activity. Despite medical reports, the commission questioned his absence and sought to stop his salary; Treasury discontinued pay from March 2014. Efforts to replace him followed; the Head of Public Service urged resignation; a petition on physical incapacity went to the National Assembly, which recommended a presidential tribunal under Article 251. No tribunal was constituted. Muiu was neither suspended nor formally removed before his term expired in October 2018.
Justice Nyaundi held that the Constitution leaves no room for administrative shortcuts where a mandatory removal process is prescribed, found the salary and medical-cover cut while he recovered violated human dignity, and ruled he was denied fair administrative action without notice or hearing. Discrimination claims were dismissed for insufficient evidence; the 2014 decision was declared unconstitutional and quashed. Kenya-news desk: Kenya News. Verified award split, dates and Article 251 path from Eastleigh Voice; any appeal or payment schedule was not part of the same report.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of the High Court judgment for Dr Muiu. The sealed judgment and any appeal filings control exact orders and timelines.
