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Mama Ngina Kenyatta, the former First Lady, has had her state pension increased to Sh679,800 per month. This news comes at a time when her family's immense wealth has come under renewed scrutiny. According to Treasury documents viewed by the Business Daily, Mama Ngina's pension was previously Sh568,218, which she received in 2018 as the spouse of Kenya's first president, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who passed away in 1978.
The generous retirement benefits offered to State officials and personalities, including Mama Ngina, have faced heavy criticism because many of them have amassed huge amounts of wealth, including valuable properties worth billions of shillings and vast business interests, while in public office.
Under the law, the payment to Mama Ngina is tied to the spouse of a sitting or retired president and is equal to 40% of the current salary paid to the sitting Head of State should the husband die. However, some lawyers argue that this payment is not in line with the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act, which took effect in January 2003. They contend that the law cannot be applied retrospectively and that it should apply only to the spouse of a sitting or retired president who died after 2003.
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