The salaries of the Kenyan president and deputy reflect the huge responsibility saddled upon them to defend the interest of the country, and to work tirelessly to make the country a better place for all the people. As of August 2022; Kenya has a new President and Deputy President.

The electoral process in Kenya is always keenly contested- leading people to question the real motives behind some of the candidate’s decisions to run for public office. Nevertheless, because these are the highest public offices in the land, it is completely understandable that the importance of the President and Deputy President be reflected in the salaries they receive.

Salary Of Kenyan President And Deputy

Without the inclusion of allowances,

The President of Kenya Mr. William Ruto earns KSh1,443,750 monthly. By that calculation, he earns KSh 17.3 million (US$165,898.62) per year. According to the constitution, the presidency should last a period of 5 years, which means at the conclusion of each single tenure his net worth should increase by KSh 99 million.

The Deputy President of Kenya Mr. Rigathi Gachagua earns Ksh 1,227,188 month. By that calculation, he earns Ksh 14.7 million (US$123,419) per year. According to the Kenyan Constitution, the Deputy President is to spend 5 years for each tenure in office. That means at the conclusion of single tenure, his net worth should increase by Ksh 73.6 million.

But what do they do to command such huge salaries?

Responsibilities Of The President of Kenya

Everything falls on the President; if the he gets the praise for every achievement made during his tenure, and he also gets all the blame when things fail to go as planned. The president is responsible for assembling his team of ministers making up his cabinet, from the best hands in the country.

As the Head of State he is responsible for the nation’s security. He will declare war, or states of emergency whenever necessary, after consultations with Parliament. He is therefore the Commander in Chief of the armed forces of Kenya. He also appoints the occupants of the top military, and he also directs the military engagements.

He is also responsible for developing policies that will benefit the general public; he may present bills to the parliament for consideration. When the parliament has a bill that has been successfully read, they likewise send it to him for approval. That will enact the bill into law; and bring the bill into force; therefore giving it legal backing.

The President also appoints ambassadors and high commissioners; and he also represents the country at international meetings and conferences.

The president formulates foreign and domestic policies, as well as pursues strategic alliances and relations which other countries so as to meet the needs of the nation; perhaps in the area of economy, technology, security, and trade.

Responsibilities Of The Deputy President

For the Deputy President of Kenya’s huge salaries he carries many important functions. The Deputy President is the principal assistant of the President, and he also deputizes for the President. That means he may be required to oversee certain ministries, committees, or organizations, and then report back to the President. This is not a permanent cabinet ministry appoint; the law forbids the Deputy President from holding any other government office- one reason for this being that he should ordinarily receive payment for the additional work.

The Deputy President may also appear in place of the President in ceremonial functions both locally and abroad, and may lead delegations to important conferences where the interests of the nation may need to be represented.

The constitution also requires the President to hand over power to the Deputy President following any prolonged absence, or when he is indisposed. Recently, the President transferred power to his Deputy so as to enable him appear before the International Criminal court; when such transfer of power occurs, the Deputy President becomes the Acting President.

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Closing

The salaries of the President and Deputy President of Kenya are quite modest compared to the importance of their offices. It therefore fails to compute against the outrageous wealth controlled by successive Kenyan Presidents and their families.

Kenya has so much potential to be the economic powerhouse of Sub Saharan Africa; but that potential can only be realized with better accountability.

Already; Kenya is taking steps to ensure that public office holders are accountable to the people; although much more will need to be done.