The government has yet again received a shocker after the High Court received a petition challenging Housing Bill after the housing levy was stopped in court.
This comes after the government chose another path of using parliament in a way to legalise the Housing Levy that was termed Unconstitutional by the court in the past few months.
The petition filed by seven Kenyans and the Mount Kenya Jurists Association argues that over the last year, too many taxes and levies have been introduced and that the court should intervene.
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According to the petitioners through the lawyer Kibe Mungai, there is a likelihood that the private economy will be starved of resources to finance other obligations and commitments.
In addition, the petition Challenging housing bill adds that the government is seeking to pass the Affordable Housing Bill (2023) which they say is unconstitutional as it seeks to transfer the state obligations to provide housing to its citizens to the individual taxpayers thereby making a mockery to the constitution.
Court documents say that there is no legal framework for affordable housing scheme and should be done away with.
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“Despite the fact that there is no legal framework for the affordable housing schemes – which basically seeks to build high-rise ghettos across the Kenyan countryside – the government has engaged the overdrive gear to demolish existing homes and to evict homeowners from all areas covered by the Kenya Kwanza Government as ideal for the construction of high-rise ghettos.”
Respondents in the petition include the Attorney General, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, the KRA, the National Assembly and the Senate while the interested parties include Kenya Kwanza Coalition, Azimio la Umoja and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).