Court hits out at Attorney General over new taxes

The Attorney-General’s office was Wednesday put on the spot over the letter it wrote to a judge over efforts to suspend the new taxes that were effected last Friday.

Justice Wilfrida Okwany said the letter asking the court not to issue orders on the law that introduced the taxes before hearing the position of the AG amounted to intimidation and interference of the Judiciary.

In the letter signed by Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto, the AG requested the court to grant him a hearing before issuing any directions in a case in which activist Okiya Omtatah has challenged implementation of the Finance Act 2018.

Lawyers representing the AG had a difficult time in court explaining the intention of the letter.

The judge questioned why the letter was not copied to Mr Omtatah, who is the petitioner in the case and noted that it contravenes the provisions of Article 160 of the Constitution, which demands a Judiciary that is not subject to control by any person or authority.

The judge allowed the letter to be withdrawn. The AG had requested to be granted a hearing before any orders are issued, arguing it was a matter of public interest.

The Finance Act 2018 introduced the eight per cent value added tax on all petroleum products, two percentage rise on excise duty for mobile phone money transfers to 12 per cent and doubled the excise duty on the fees charged by banks, money transfer services, and other financial institutions to 20 per cent.

Last Friday, Mr Omtatah sued the AG and the National Assembly over the Finance Act 2018, which was assented to by President Uhuru Kenyatta and published in the Kenya Gazette on September 21. The case challenging the Finance Act will be heard on October 9.