The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has sued the government over a new internet tax, which it says violates fundamental rights and freedoms.
In a petition filed last Friday, the LSK notes that freedoms of expression and association and the right to information have been violated.
DISCRIMINATION
The society claims that in the 2018 Finance Act, President Uhuru Kenyatta introduced new aspects including the taxation of internet data, and that these were passed through the National Assembly without being subjected to public participation.
“The president acted outside his mandate under Article 115(1)(b) by introducing new issues through his memorandum. By making recommendations on issues not canvassed in the earlier bill, the president circumvented the normal legislative process,” the petition states.
The LSK has asked the court to suspend the new tax and stop the government from implementing it.
The petitioner further argues that the introduction of a 15 percent tax on telephone and internet data services will lock a significant part of the population out of the internet, thereby aggravating marginalisation and discrimination.
“The internet is an enabler of all the rights guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. Universal access to it must be guaranteed and aggressively pursued,” states the petition.
“More than 250 government services are now offered exclusively over the internet. Communication from the State is also done online. Despite it being a necessity, a large population of Kenyans do not have access to the internet as they cannot afford it. A government policy to increase the cost of such a basic necessity therefore discriminates against those without access to the internet on the basis of financial status and social origin.”
The Attorney-General, the National Assembly and the commissioner-general at the Kenya Revenue Authority have been named as respondents.
The government has faced intense criticism over harsh taxes outlined in the new budget, with citizens complaining that the cost of living will become too high once the new taxes come into effect.
It has defended itself saying that the steep taxes will fund the country’s development budget.
Culled from Nation.co.ke
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this article! It is the little changes which will make the greatest changes. Thanks for sharing!
Hey I am so happy I found your weblog, I really found you by mistake, while I was browsing on Askjeeve for something else, Regardless I am here now and would just like to say many thanks for a fantastic post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design), I dont have time to go through it all at the minute but I have saved it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the superb b.
Normally I do not read article on blogs, however I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to take a look at and do so! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thank you, quite great article.
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was wondering what all is required to get set up? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very internet savvy so I’m not 100% positive. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for %keyword%
Yes! Finally something about %keyword1%.
Hi, i feel that i saw you visited my website so i got here to go back the choose?.I am trying to in finding things to improve my website!I assume its good enough to use some of your concepts!!
Hi there just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same results.
I have read so many posts regarding the blogger lovers except this article is truly a pleasant article, keep it up.
It’s remarkable to pay a visit this web site and reading the views of all friends concerning this piece of writing, while I am also keen of getting knowledge.
Hello there! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any tips or suggestions? Appreciate it
I am really pleased to read this blog posts which consists of lots of helpful information, thanks for providing such information.
This is my first time pay a visit at here and i am truly happy to read all at alone place.
Hi, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Ie, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, awesome blog!
My coder is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on numerous websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard fantastic things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it? Any kind of help would be really appreciated!
I’m really enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more enjoyable for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Fantastic work!
Normally I do not read article on blogs, however I wish to say that this write-up very pressured me to take a look at and do so! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thank you, quite great article.
Fantastic post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Appreciate it!
Heya! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing months of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any solutions to prevent hackers?
Hey! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a marvellous job!
Hi excellent blog! Does running a blog similar to this take a great deal of work? I have virtually no expertise in computer programming but I was hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyways, if you have any suggestions or tips for new blog owners please share. I know this is off topic nevertheless I just had to ask. Thank you!
Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be ok. I’m undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.
Hi there, I enjoy reading all of your article. I like to write a little comment to support you.
It’s very straightforward to find out any topic on net as compared to books, as I found this post at this site.
It’s an awesome article in favor of all the web people; they will get benefit from it I am sure.
Today, I went to the beach with my kids. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tell someone!
Pretty component of content. I simply stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to claim that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing in your augment or even I achievement you get entry to consistently rapidly.
What a data of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious experience concerning unexpected feelings.
I’m not sure why but this website is loading incredibly slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end? I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.
You really make it seem so easy together with your presentation however I find this topic to be really something which I feel I would never understand. It kind of feels too complicated and very large for me. I am taking a look forward on your next submit, I will try to get the grasp of it!
It’s remarkable to go to see this site and reading the views of all friends regarding this article, while I am also eager of getting knowledge.
Hey there, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog site in Ie, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say fantastic blog!
constantly i used to read smaller articles or reviews which also clear their motive, and that is also happening with this post which I am reading at this time.
You’re so awesome! I don’t think I’ve read something like this before. So good to find someone with some original thoughts on this issue. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the web, someone with a little originality!
of course like your website however you need to test the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the truth however I will surely come back again.
I simply could not depart your web site prior to suggesting that I really enjoyed the standard information a person supply on your visitors? Is going to be back frequently in order to check out new posts
Post writing is also a fun, if you know then you can write or else it is difficult to write.
When someone writes an article he/she maintains the idea of a user in his/her mind that how a user can know it. So that’s why this piece of writing is amazing. Thanks!
I’m not sure where you are getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for wonderful information I was looking for this information for my mission.
I am extremely inspired together with your writing talents and alsosmartly as with the format in your blog. Is this a paid topic or did you customize it yourself? Either way stay up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to peer a nice blog like this one these days..
Interesting blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog jump out. Please let me know where you got your design. Appreciate it
Your method of describing all in this article is truly good, all be able to without difficulty know it, Thanks a lot.