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The High Court Sitting on  Monday 10th July, at Nairobi about Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah’s suit on Finance Law against Kenya Kwanza Administration, is expected to enjoin another petitioner  from civil society lobby group 

In a document seen by safinews.co.ke on Sunday 9th July, which was filed on Friday 6th July, by the lobby group tagged Operation Linda Jamii, sought the court to permanently bar the implementation of the already assented Finance Bill into Law

In the affidavit, sworn by the Chairperson of the group Dr Fredrick Ogola, sued Attorney General Justin Muturi, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and National Planning Prof Njuguna Ndung’u, National Assembly and Kenya Revenue Authority [KRA]

Prof Ogola, accused the four for blatantly overseeing the enactment and passage of punitory law that is meant to hard more pains to the already suffering kenyans 

“The Petitioners posit that, in Kenya, the Constitution empowers the national executive to levy taxes. However, the same protect citizens from arbitrary, unfair, and excessive taxation such as the ones contained in the Finance Act, 2023. 

Therefore, the Executive and the Legislature do not have authority to impose taxes in any manner that they feel fit to do,” Sworn affidavit read. 

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The lobby group has accused the Kuria Kimani led National Assembly departmental committee on Finance and National Planning for introducing punitive clauses and instead unleashed the memoranda from the civil society groups

For instance, Stakeholders like RSM Eastern Africa Consulting Limited, America Chambers of Commerce, Furniture Association of Kenya, Mak and Partners LLP/Mwaniki / Wangui Karuga, Benson Odiwuor Advocates and Civil Society Parliament Engagement Network proposed that Clause 28 sub clause (a) of the Finance Bill be deleted.

However, the Committee rejected the proposal and same clause was retained in Section 30 of the impugned Finance Act, 2023. 

According to the petitioner, this is a true picture that the committee was neither ready to conduct public participation nor accommodate proposals as they had their own solutions as opposed to what the public presented. 

They also noted that there was little or no effort by the committee to document the views of the general public. Its report mainly documents the views of professional and consulting firms. 

The Petitioners aver that the public participation conducted was therefore narrow and insufficient.

The Finance Bill, 2023 has been eliciting mixed reactions of recent, a survey seen by our legislative desk posted only 1.7 per cent of Kenyans supported the already assented instrument of law by his Excellency Dr. William Samoei Ruto, on June 26, 2023

National Assembly on the other hand has been accused of introducing, Sections 18, 21, 23, 24, 26, 32, 34, 38, 44, 47, 69, 72, 79, 80,81, 82,83, 85,86, 100, 101 and 102 of the impugned Act despite not being captured in the Finance Bill thereby bypassing public participation contrary to Article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya

“The procedure of enacting the impugned Act was unconstitutional since the Bill did not meet the fundamental tenets set by the Constitution,”. Ogola submitted that the bill which was brought before the National Assembly did not get the attention of the senate in terms of consideration.  

The National Assembly sailed the Finance Bill through the Third Reading and passed it to presidential assent, where National Assembly Majority Chief Whip Sylvanus Osoro claimed to have bribed section of opposition MPs to pass the controversial Finance Bill

Petitioners also avers that amendment of Section 5 of the Value Added Tax Act, 2013 under Section 30 of the impugned Act which deleted subsection 2(aa) and (bb) and raising VAT on petroleum products (excluding Liquid Petroleum Gas) from 8% to 16% will increase the already high cost of living.

“Unless the orders sought herein are granted the Respondents will continue with the implementation and enforcement of the impugned Act thus violating the rights of Kenyans as explained above to the great prejudice of all Kenyans and hence render both this Application and the Petition herein nugatory.

All in all, it is in the interest of justice that the present Application be allowed as prayed so as to uphold the dignity and sanctity of the rule of law and to avert this gross abuse executive authority for ulterior purposes,” They prayed before the court as final verdict is set tomorrow