The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) is now pushing for the government to respect the order issued by Bungoma High Court halting implementation of the fuel tax.
In a statement issued by Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna, the party hit out at the government over the tax burden on Kenyans due to public debt.
“The government has leeched on poor Kenyans to the extent that they have nothing more to give. In this debt-laden,corruption-ridden economy that holds little promise for the common mwananchi (citizen), it is nothing but sheer insanity to now try to tax the citizens to their graves,” he stated.
He added that Jubilee party had a history of disobeying court orders, citing examples such as orders for the appearance in court of CS Fred Matiang’i and the Inspector General (IG) of Police Joseph Boinnet and their subsequent arrests as well as the multiple orders to restore Miguna Miguna’s passport.
Justice Stephen Riechi on 06/09/2018 gave orders rescinding the decision by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to implement the 16% tax on petroleum products to enable the president either assent or reject the amended Finance Bill passed by the National Assembly.
The State, however, is keen on the implementation arguing that the order to shelf it will be a big blow to the economy with State Counsel urging President Uhuru Kenyatta to sign the Bill pushing implementation dates before it is acted on.
“Under our legal system, a bill passed by parliament is not law unless assented to by the President and published in the Kenya Gazette as an Act of Parliament or passed in accordance with Article 115 of the Constitution. This has not happened with the Finance Bill of 2018,” read the statement from the Attorney General’s office.
Lawyer Ken Amondi has, however, come out insisting the State ought to have complied with Thursday’s ruling before making any application.
He is to advance his case on Wednesday before Kisumu High Court judge Fred Ochieng' after the government failed to comply with the order reversing the levy that came into effect on September 1.
The lawyer is also expected to put the ERC to task for contempt of court,with the body claiming on Friday that it had not been ‘properly served’ with the court order.
Amondi also wants the ERC to compensate Kenyans for what he terms as “illegal levying of VAT on petroleum products from 4:00 pm on 06/09/18.”
Police Raid Former Treasury CS Ukur Yatani's Home Breaking News
