Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has pleaded with the Judiciary not to sabotage President William Ruto’s housing programme.
Speaking in Kwale soon after the High Court in Nairobi declared the Housing Levy contained in the Finance Act 2023 unconstitutional, the DP said the Judiciary should support the Housing Levy.
"Much as we respect the independence of the judiciary, I want to request our judges to not sabotage that programme," Gachagua said.
He argued that thousands of young people today have already been engaged in the housing programme and doing away with the levy would render them jobless.
"That programme will dignify the people of Kenya. It is the desire of every Kenyan who lives in an urban centre to own a home one day," he said.
The court said the levy was unconstitutional and vague and that there was no law allowing the Kenya Revenue Authority to collect it.
The court also found that the levy was discriminatory since it targeted only employed Kenyans and the government did not demonstrate why it excluded other categories of income earners.
It was delivered by a three-judge bench comprising David Majanja, Christine Meoli and Lawrence Mugambi on Tuesday who heard various petitions challenging the Finance Act 2023.
The National Assembly passed the Finance Act 2023 on June 22, 2023, and later assented by Ruto on June 26.
Government lawyers requested 45-day stay orders to make necessary amendments to the Housing Levy through the National Assembly to make it constitutional.
Ruto has since embarked on a plan to build 200,000 affordable housing units every year.
