IG Joseph Boinett yet to arrest TSC boss and take him to Kamiti Prison as ordered by court

Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett after he took over office on Wednesday 11/03/15.[PHOTO:BONIFACE OKENDO/STANDARD]

Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett is yet to arrest Teachers Service Commission Secretary (TSC) Gabriel Lengoiboni, two months after the High Court ordered.

Boinett was ordered on March 12 to arrest Mr Lengoiboni in 60 days, which have since expired, and escort him to Kamiti Maximum Prison to serve a six-month jail term over contempt of court after he failed to pay 52,000 retired teachers part of the Sh42 billion pension and salary arrears.

Boinett's order to arrest the TSC boss came after six arrest orders were suspended and ultimatums issued to Lengoiboni to either pay or be jailed. The court is set to mention the case next week.

In February, Lady Justice Janet Mulwa ordered the then Acting Inspector General Samwel Arachi to arrest Lengoiboni but the order was not executed.

The court then summoned Mr Arachi on March 12 to explain why he had not affected the court order. Arachi said Lengoiboni was out of the country and promised to arrest him within the 60 days. The period is now over and Lengoiboni is still a free man.

The group of teachers who retired in 1997 has regularly told the court they are ageing and the Government has not paid even a penny of the arrears.

The retirees usually flock the court to follow proceedings since they sued TSC and the director of pensions in 2006. On virtually every occasion they express disappointment over the delayed payment since they won the case on October 23, 2008.

salary increment

The retirees' chairman Joseph Mwenja told the court through an affidavit that the Government should give them the first tranche of Sh3.4 billion that Justice William Ouko ordered TSC pay them in April 2012, which had been budgeted for and approved by Parliament in the 2011/2012 budget.

Judge David Maraga, who presided over the main suit ruled in 2008, ordered that all retired teachers be covered by the October 1997 salary increment agreed between TSC and Kenya National Union of Teachers.

The retirees challenged TSC for not calculating their pensions based on increased salary rate in phases as agreed after the "intensive and very frank negotiations" between TSC and Knut.

TSC had argued that the salary increment was implemented in phases and the retirees were only entitled to the 1997 phase, on which their pension was based.