The move, sponsored by MP Adam Kenyan, to pass an amendment to the salary and Remuneration act that gave the MPs a KES 2.1 Billion send off package may have had a larger impact on Kenyans than he thought. When tied with the introduction of a 10% excise duty on fees charged for money transfers by cellphone service providers, money transfer agencies and banks it rubbed Kenyans the wrong way.

The Members of Parliament, on the other hand, are adamant about their position. The chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Implementation of  the Constitution Abdikadir Mohammed has been quoted by Business Daily saying 'there is debate about legislators awarding themselves KES 2.1 billion but it should be clear that Parliament has the final say on the salaries of its members, officials and other public officers such as judges'.

The legislator further said that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission has no business in determining what parliamentarians take home and that only the courts can stand in our (parliament's) way on this matter. The Salaries and Remuneration Commission is established under Article 230 of the Constitution and has powers to set and regularly review salaries and benefits of all state officers.

Kenyans on Twitter

Kenyans on Twitter have called for peaceful protests to petition the executive not to sign the amendment into law. The protest, started on twitter by blogger Robert Alai gained, momentum with the hash tag #KOTAgainstMPsBonus trending. Below are a couple of tweets.

"Sure my MP deserves his hefty bonus. He has worked hard. Harder than any teacher or doctor I know," said no one ever. #KOTAgainstMPsBonus

— Mugambi Nthiga (@ItsMugambi) October 9, 2012

They steal from us.. Live large for 5 years & pretend to be our friends when they beg for our votes.. #TumekataaHiyo #KOTAgainstMPsBonus

— iMan (@Alex1Rango) October 9, 2012

Best Paid Politicians in the world

In 2010, MPs implemented a similar move which saw their pay increased when the country was ailing economically after the 2007/2008 post election skirmishes.Parliament voted to give themselves a salary increase which brought the annual pay for each member to  KES 851,000 a month. This included a basic salary of KES 200,000 and allowances totaling KES 651,000 a salary on par with members of the United States Congress. This ranked them among some of the best paid politicians in the world.

As reported by ABC News, the legislation meant the Prime Minister  now takes home more money than both Britain’s Prime Minister and the President of the United States. The report said unlike the United States, which has an average annual income of about $50,000(KES 4.25 million) , the average Kenyan brings home $730 (KES 62,050) a year.