New Blow For Ruto As Kenya Court Annuls 2023 Finance Law
(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
AFP
Nairobi: Kenya's Court of Appeal on Wednesday annulled a controversial finance bill enacted last year, adding to the woes of embattled President William Ruto and his cash-strapped administration.
The court ruling follows Ruto's decision last month to scrap the equally contentious 2024 finance bill in the face of widespread and sometimes deadly protests over controversial tax hikes the draft legislation contained.
The three-judge appeal court bench found that the 2023 law was "fundamentally flawed... and consequently unconstitutional" because of failings in parliamentary procedures.
Ruto signed the Finance Act 2023 into law in June last year in a bid to generate more than $2.1 billion for the public coffers and help ease Kenya's heavy debt-servicing costs.
But it contained numerous new or increased taxes on basic goods such as fuel and food and mobile money transfers, as well as a controversial levy on all taxpayers to fund a housing scheme.
The legislation had triggered months of protests called by veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga which spiralled into looting and deadly clashes with police, raising concerns about the stability of the East African powerhouse.
This year's finance bill and its provisions for more tax hikes to raise another $2.7 billion in revenue triggered a similar wave of protests -- this time led largely by young Gen-Z Kenyans.
Facing the worst crisis of his nearly two-year presidency, Ruto abandoned the legislation after a bloody day in Nairobi in June which saw demonstrators storm parliament and police fire live bullets on protesters.
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