Kenyan MPs have defied presidential plans for spending reforms by voting to increase their own salaries to 851,000 shillings (£6,630) per month, in a country where the average monthly wage is only 6,498 shillings (£50).
The motion appears to have been a protest by both sides of the house against the policies of the newly elected President Kenyatta, who came to power in March promising to stimulate economic growth by slashing public sector salaries and reducing the size of government.
Yet the MPs’ moves are themselves already meeting with resistance. There have been a number of street demonstrations, while civic rights groups such as the Law Society of Kenya may challenge the legality of their decision in the courts.
For MPs, however, opposing the presidential cuts is a matter of self respect. “They have taken away our dignity and we must reclaim it” said one.
