Okiya Omtatah, a senator from Busia, has filed a legal challenge against the Finance Bill, arguing that it is unconstitutional.
In a lawsuit brought under a certificate of urgency, Mr. Omtatah accuses the executive of usurping the functions of both the National Assembly and the Senate, as well as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
President William Ruto, who is pushing for Kenyans to pay their taxes in an irregular way, is pushing through the Finance Bill, claims Mr. Omtatah.
Mr. Omtatah also requests that the government make public data regarding the national debt, which he claimed during a press conference outside of court to be overstated by more than Sh3.7 trillion.
The national debt, according to figures in the public domain, is Sh8.7 trillion, the senator claims.
When he filed the case at the Milimani High Court, Mr. Omtatah said, “The actual debt must be made public for audit; otherwise, Kenyans will be taxed to pay private debts.”
In his words, “Kenyans are being asked to pay these debts that financed non-existent development projects,” he claimed that money borrowed from abroad had been concealed in secret, off-show accounts.
The senator has cited more than 30 constitutional provisions as being violated if the Finance Bill is approved.
In an effort to bring legal action against the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, the Attorney General, and the National Assembly, Mr. Omtatah has joined forces with four activists Eliud Matindi, Michael Otieno, Benson Odiwuor Otieno, and Blair Angima Oigoro.
They have also named the Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority as an interested party.
Mr. Omtatah is urging the high court to certify the suit as urgent, saying the government is going all out to irregularly tax Kenyans without justification.
He is asking the court to restrain the Speaker of the National Assembly from sending the Finance Bill 2023 to the President if it contains sections 28, 30, 33, 34, 36, 52, 56, 59, 73, 74, 76, 78, and 79.
He also protested against the President’s use of the courts and the National Assembly to pass punitive laws that cannot be easily amended.
He wants the court to find that substantial questions of law have been raised and then refer the case to Chief Justice Martha Koome to constitute a bench to determine the case.
