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Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 4:00 PM UTC

Kenya president rejects lavish pay for legislators

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Topics: From the Wires,

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s President has vetoed legislation in which members of parliament gave themselves a hefty send-off package in a late-evening vote on the last day of session before national elections.

Mwai Kibaki Saturday ordered the attorney general to redraft the law to make it compliant with the constitution. The bill adopted Wednesday would give each parliamentarian a nearly $110,000 bonus. The average yearly salary in Kenya is about $1,700.

The package would also provide legislators with an armed guard, a diplomatic passport, and access to the VIP lounge at Kenyan airports and state funerals. The law was also giving Kenya’s president, vice president and prime minister hefty retirement packages. But the Salaries and Remuneration Commission said it was unconstitutional for legislators to set their own pay under the constitution the country adopted in 2010.

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