A high-stakes legal battle is unfolding in Kenya over the country’s tax exemption policies after a prominent surgeon filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of exemptions granted to religious groups and other entities.
Dr. Magare Gikenyi Benjamin, a trauma and general surgeon based in Nakuru, submitted an urgent filing to the High Court of Kenya on Monday arguing that sections of the Income Tax Act are discriminatory and violate the Kenyan constitution’s guarantees of equality, human dignity and public finance.
“This absurd situation has continued for long until now it has been taken as a ‘normality,'” Benjamin wrote in the court documents. “As a general rule, a statute is null and void if its contrary to the constitution.”
At issue are clauses in the tax code that exempt certain groups like churches, mosques, temples and some NGOs from paying income tax on donations, tithes and other sources of revenue. Benjamin contends this allows those organizations to accumulate billions in untaxed income while ordinary citizens shoulder the country’s tax burden.
The petition claims the exemptions date back to Kenya’s colonial past and contravene Article 27 of the constitution, which promises equality and freedom from discrimination. Benjamin further alleges violations of Articles 10, 75 and 201 which cover economic justice, taxation and public finance.
“There is no role of discrimination in terms of carrying out tax burden,” the filing states.
In addition to the Attorney General and National Assembly, the petition names as respondents the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and the Kenya Revenue Authority. The National Council of Churches of Kenya, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya and the Supreme Council of Kenyan Muslims were listed as interested parties who could potentially be impacted by a ruling.
“This matter is of Public interest,” Benjamin wrote in requesting urgent court orders overturning the exemptions.
