On Friday, 26 January 2024, the Court of Appeal ordered the government of Kenya to halt Housing Levy deductions, until cases filed against the program are heard and determined.
The three-judge bench consisting of Justices Lydia Achode, John Mativo, and Gatembu Kairu, ruled that the housing levy remains suspended as declared by the High Court.
The judges argued that it would be unfair for the government to continue to deduct the money from Kenyans holding that the Housing Levy was introduced without a legal framework.
If found unconstitutional, the process of refunding the money would complicate the case. In their ruling, the judges further stated that the housing levy only targets Kenyans with payslips terming the process as unjust.
The court decision is a significant win for Kenyans, dealing a setback to the government’s efforts in funding affordable housing initiatives.
However, President William Ruto immediately denounced the Court of Appeals’s ruling insisting that the plan would continue and the court should have allowed the government to complete creating the law to actualize the plan.
The outcome of the housing levy is yet to be determined.