Omtatah moves to court to challenge Affordable Housing Act

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and three other litigants have petitioned the High Court to stop the implementation of the Affordable Housing Act 2024, as it fails to promote good governance, transparency and accountability.

Omtatah, alongside Blair Ngima, Benson Odiwuor and Karanja Matindi, wants the law abolished for failing to address principles of equal sharing, devolution of power, the rule of law, democracy and participation of the people, good governance, integrity, transparency and accountability.

The Petitioners argue that the entire Housing Law is discriminatory in that, "It would further be upholding the protection against unlawful discrimination as between formal and non-formal earners under Article 27, right to human dignity under Article 28, the right to property under Article 40 of the Constitution and the principles of public finance under Article 201, including openness and accountability and fair sharing of the burden of taxation".

"You cannot take my money to build a house for another person, If the fund has to survive let it be voluntary and this is a scheme to steal from Kenyans and to steal land. It is totally unconstitutional," said Omtatah.  

They further argue that the levy discriminates against people in formal employment who are required to contribute from their salaries while persons with non-salary income are exempt from such contribution.

"Are you going to put cameras on bodabodas and markets to check how to tax non salaried? It's practically totally impossible. Will they pay 3% as a combination of employers and employees or 1.5%?" posed Omtatah.

In addition the petitioners argue that the affordable housing fund purports to use public or community land and sell the said housing unit to a private individual or corporate, an Action which is unconstitutional in that, all public land is  held, managed and  allocated  by the NLC  and not any other body.

"How will you as an individual buy house from a public land funded by tax payers and then the private developer takes the money?" quipped the Busia Senator.  

The petitioners have pleaded with the courts to issue conservatory orders halting the functionality of the Housing Law, since the matters are of extreme public interest .

They also argue that some Kenyans will be subjected to provisions of law that have already been declared unconstitutional, null and void, by a court of competent jurisdiction, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive petition filed alongside the application.

Nakuru-based Doctor Magare Gikenyi and four others also sought similar orders from the Milimani courts, with the matter scheduled for mentioning in May 2024.