BREAKING NEWS: Reprieve for Kenyans as Court Halts Ruto’s Housing Levy.
BREAKING NEWS: Reprieve for Kenyans as Court Halts Ruto’s Housing Levy: The Court of Appeal, on Friday, ordered the government to stop Housing Levy deductions until cases filed against the levy are heard and determined.
The three-judge bench consisting of, Justices Lydia Achode, John Mativo and Mwaniki Gachoka ruled that the housing levy remains suspended as declared by the High Court.
Notably, it ended the deduction of the charges citing that the window granted to the government had ended on the 26th of January 2023.
The Justices argued that it would be unfair to deduct the money as it could not predict its final verdict detailing that If found unconstitutional, the process of refunding the moneys would complicate the case.
The Housing Levy was also found to be targeting only a section of Kenyans, with payslips, a process which the court deemed unfair.
The Judges ruled,”The trial Court held that the Housing Levy was introduced without a legal framework. It also held that the levy was targeting a section of Kenyans. In our view, public interest lies in awaiting the determination of the appeal.
“This is because if the stay sought is granted at this stage, should the appellate Court affirm the impugned decision, then some far-reaching decisions that will have been undertaken pursuant to the impugned laws may not be reversible. Public interest in our view tilts favour of in not granting the stay or the suspension sought. Public interest tilts in favour awaiting the determination of the issues raised in the intended appeals,” they added.
Consequently, the judges ordered four consolidated appeals to be heard as soon as possible to allow issues raised in the appeals to be resolved.
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