No one will be exempted from paying taxes, Ruto warns 'Raila demos sponsors'

President William Ruto says no one in Kenya will be excused from paying taxes, in a warning directed at those he alleged were sponsoring Azimio La Umoja planned demonstrations.

Speaking in Mombasa on Monday, President Ruto said every Kenyan will have to pay their fair share of tax to avoid an “Animal Farm” that makes some people in the country special.

He claimed that the ongoing demonstrations that have been raising concern over the rising taxes by his government and the spiraling cost of living were being funded by tax evaders.

“People who are used to exempting themselves from paying tax, their day is up. Every citizen must pay tax, even if they sponsor demonstrations so that they don’t pay tax,’’ he stated.

The Head of State spoke while presiding over the Post-Election Seminar 2023 held by the National Assembly working with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

“This country is not the animal farm where some are more equal than others. We are going to have a society where every citizen carries their fair share of our burden to raise our taxes,” added the President.

He, however, sought to assure that no one would be slapped with any illegal taxes.

“I’m not talking about additional taxes, I’m talking about taxes that have been agreed upon by Parliament and signed into law,” Ruto intimated.

This comes a day after Azimio leader Raila Odinga held a rally at Jacaranda grounds where he, among other things, accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of overtaxing Kenyans.

Raila said he will lead rallies countrywide to oppose Ruto whom he accuses of stealing his victory on August 9, 2022 and also push for electoral reforms ahead of the 2027 election.

He announced that the Azimio protest rallies will be held in Machakos, Nakuru, Kakamega, Kisii, Kisumu, Mombasa, Kiambu, Garissa, Isiolo, Turkana, before terminating in Nairobi.