Kenyans earning salaries will continue being deducted the controversial Housing Levy after the High Court granted stay orders barring the scrapping of the tax until January 10, 2024.

This was clarified by the High Court on Tuesday only hours after it declared the divisive levy unconstitutional and ruled that it was in violation of Article 10, 2 (a) of the Constitution.

The three-judge bench issued the stay orders following a request filed by the Respondents in the case asking to be given 45 days to comply with the significant decision of the court.

“In those 45 days, I urge you to suspend the oppression of those particular findings in the judgement and any decree that may flow therefrom pending the filing of a formal application under the Mutunga Rules and the Court of Appeal Rules,” urged the respondents’legal team led by George Murugara.

He went on: “The reason is that, first, we have to make the necessary adjustments to the government procedure of taxation so that no party/arm of government is sued for contempt.”

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Justices David Majanja, Christine Meoli and Lawrence Mugambi had, in their ruling on made on Tuesday, also declared null and void sections 84, 72 to 78 of the Finance Act.

The government started deducting the Housing Levy from salaried Kenyans and their employers in July, with Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) authorized as the collecting agent.

Following the passage of the Finance Act, employers were instructed to remit 1.5 percent contribution from their employees, and match it with a similar amount themselves monthly.

Defending the new affront to the Kenyan payslip, President William Ruto said the collected cash would be used to build Affordable House to bridge the housing deficit in the country.