Senator Cherargei proposes interns’ pay rise from Kh15K to Ksh50K
By Paulette Mboga, October 30, 2025Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has called for an increase in the monthly stipend paid to interns, proposing that it be raised from the current Ksh15,000 to Ksh50,000.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, October 30, 2025, the Nandi Senator said the current amount is too little to sustain young people working in major towns across the country.
“How do you give an intern Ksh15,000 as a stipend? That is why they are being misused,” he said. Cherargei argued that many interns, especially those stationed in cities like Nairobi and Mombasa, struggle to afford rent and necessities on the current pay.
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‘Interns deserve a decent life’
The Senator said it was unfair to expect interns to survive in expensive cities with such a low allowance, noting that most of them depend on their parents for extra support. “I meet parents most of the time, they are telling me my child is doing an internship in Nairobi or Mombasa or anywhere, but they want money for rent,” he said.
He added that the cost of living has risen sharply, making it impossible for interns to meet their daily needs. “How do you pay Ksh15,000 in this day and era, Mr Speaker? Let us give even Ksh50,000,” Cherargei told the Senate.
He explained that with a stipend of Ksh50,000, interns would be able to live decently, pay rent, buy clothes, and afford food without having to depend on their parents.
Cherargei went on to share his own experience, saying that during his early years, he lived with several friends in a small shared house. “They can get a house in Ngumo or Rongai and have something for Ksh10k to live on, or where I was living in Highrise, where we were four men in one house. But that is how we survived. You have to share the room you live in; you don’t even see sunlight,” he said.
The Senator stressed that his proposal was not meant to encourage young people to misuse the money but to help them live with dignity while gaining work experience.
“Let us make it to Ksh50k plus. So that the youth interns can have a decent life. They can buy clothes, get food, and let us make it to 50k plus. I am not saying this so that the young people waende wapige sherehe,” Cherargei said.