The ruling by the High Court that residents of Mtito Andei and Mackinnon towns will only be required to pay taxes to Taita Taveta county has granted residents a significant reprieve.
Governor Andrew Mwadime was permitted to continue collecting taxes in the two towns by Environment and Lands Court Justice Lucas Naikuni while the border issues between the counties of Taita Taveta, Kwale, and Makueni were resolved.
Until June 26 of this year, when the court will deliver its decision on the boundary question, the judge ordered the Mwadime administration to temporarily serve as the only revenue collector and business permit issuer for traders in the two towns.
Additionally, Kwale and Makueni county administrations are prohibited by order of Justice Naikuni from receiving any kind of revenue from the towns or granting any kind of permit. He issued an order that forbade the Kwale and Makueni County Governments, as well as their representatives, from obtaining any kind of revenue in Mackinon Town and Mtito Andei, where their predecessor had not done so prior to the creation of county governments.
The judge ordered that funds received by the towns be placed into two escrow accounts. A conservatory order has been issued, stating that the County Government of Taita Taveta will be the exclusive authority for issuing permits and collecting county taxes in Mackinon Road town and Mtito Andei town, as their predecessors did prior to the establishment of county governments in 2013. The judge further ordered that all funds collected will be deposited into an interest-bearing bank account that will be opened jointly with Kwale and Makueni county governments, respectively, pending the hearing and determination of the petition.
The directives were issued in response to a court filing by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah, who asked for Taita Taveta to be permitted to collect revenue so that the National Lands Commission could finish investigating the border disputes between the three counties, submit a report by April 15, 2024, and enable the court to decide the case by June.
Omtatah claimed that the three counties were using the boundary dispute as an excuse to impose double taxes on the locals.
The court reaffirmed that historical injustices are the primary cause of the border disputes that have plagued Taita Taveta, Kwale, and Makueni, as well as other spiral consequences they have had on the fundamental rights of ordinary residents.
