Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua has revealed the stark pay disparities she experienced when starting her legal career as a magistrate, compared to her father’s earnings as a teacher.
Speaking during a radio interview on Monday, November 18, 2024, Karua shared her insights on civil service pay, both past and present.
Reflecting on her early days in law, Karua recounted a conversation with her father about her salary.
She highlighted her father’s shock upon realizing that, as a teacher, he was earning more than she did as a magistrate.
“Civil service pay was bad but I remember when I told my dad how much I was earning. His response was ‘what! After all that education I am earning more than you as a teacher’. That was his response. His salary plus his house allowance, he had more money than me. So he couldn’t understand how after all that education,” she said.
Karua pointed out that pay in the civil service has improved significantly for senior levels in recent years but warned of an imbalance in resource allocation.
“Civil service pay was very bad, not like today when especially the higher levels of civil service are better paid than even sometimes the private sector. It shows there is something we are not quite balancing,” she noted.
She emphasized the importance of aligning civil servants’ pay with the country’s economic capacity while ensuring citizens receive quality public services.
“Civil servants should be well paid so that they can do their jobs properly but the pay should be commensurate with the standard of living and the wealth of the country so that we must be able to give good services to the people as well as the better pay.
“The two should rise together, quality services – especially the basic services. But when you raise civil servants pay, and state officers’ pay starting with MPs and you leave out quality services for the people, that is an imbalance,” she explained further.
Later, Karua clarified her remarks on X after an online user misinterpreted her remarks.
“Teachers were earning more than Magistrates back in the days,” X user wrote.
“Not exactly but my dad’s pay as a teacher nearing retirement was more than my salary as a magistrate,” Karua rebutted.
Martha Karua has been sharing insights into her personal life during media interviews following the release of her book.
The Narc Kenya party leader is promoting her memoir ‘Against the Tides’ which chronicles her life and legacy.
