A judge just nuked the government's attempt to slap a 10-percent tax on palm oil imports after officials skipped the whole parliamentary approval thing and locked ordinary people out of the conversation. Justice Bahati Mwamuye said bureaucrats broke constitutional rules by ditching the zero-rate duty without letting anyone weigh in first, and cooking oil prices immediately spiked because manufacturers pass costs straight to shoppers. The Consumer Federation of Kenya dragged the state to court over the mess.
The ruling blocks enforcement of the tariff and forces authorities to run future tax changes through proper public input plus legislative review, even when regional trade agreements are involved. Mwamuye pointed out that procedural screwups alone were enough to trash the policy, since denying citizens a chance to debate decisions that hit their wallets violates basic democratic safeguards.
The ruling blocks enforcement of the tariff and forces authorities to run future tax changes through proper public input plus legislative review, even when regional trade agreements are involved. Mwamuye pointed out that procedural screwups alone were enough to trash the policy, since denying citizens a chance to debate decisions that hit their wallets violates basic democratic safeguards.
