A Human Rights Defender's Perspective

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said that, “Taxes are what we pay for civilized society”. Indeed, a state cannot run a democracy well without taxation, and a taxation system cannot be run well without a democracy.     Like other legal issue, tax has the constitution as its initial source. It then finds its way into legislation that operationalizes these constitutional provisions. However, different governments have their own ways of creating taxation policies depending on what they hope to achieve for their electorate (…..or for itself as is the sad situation in this our great republic!) For a long time now especially during the Moi Regime, tax collection suffered greatly. Poor compliance in the informal sector, narrow coverage of existing tax instruments, poor tax collection and tax administration efforts. No one enjoys paying taxes and would be more than happy to have this burden removed. It is therefore important that in an attempt by state to reduce the ‘load of taxation’, ensure th

  A picture of a poor woman in the hunger striken turukana region of northern Kenya An indigent and destitute woman goes to the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) office in Kasarani Constituency, Nairobi (a fund created by the CDF Act Cap 10 of 2003, whose purpose is for development and in particular in the fight against poverty at the constituency level. ……). Her son has been threatened with expulsion from a local Secondary School for the habitual default in school fees payment. The arrears are in the tens of thousands and her only wish is to reduce the amount hoping against hope that an upcoming business idea will soon come to fruition. It has been a while now since she paid any fees for her son and the patient head teacher has been extremely considerate of her plight, but then again the school cannot run on prayers..... Down in the sprawling Korogocho slums, the number of young boys and girls, many who are friends of her son, haven’t seen the inside of a class room ever since t

Long break from writing but an ample opportunity to reflect on our gains so far and the need to have persons of strong will and untainted character, who would never hesitate to go to unfathomable heights to ensure respect for the rule of law – especially the constitution and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. It is in this regard that I wish to highlight two characters with no similarities whatsoever but who both have/had a chance to do right and/or make right. Number 1 – Our Very Own Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and Son from the loin of Our Nation’s great Founding Father. The law is very clear on the budget reading process. Though quite elaborate, the writers of this constitution were fully aware of the challenges it would pose. However, they were more importantly alive to the fact that things had to change. The budget making process is one where Kenyans must be involved in. The era (error) of budgets shrouded in mystery (and purpose