NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 27 – The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has announced plans to sue the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA), accusing the party of large-scale tax evasion, financial mismanagement, and violations of labour laws based on findings by the Auditor-General.
In a statement, the rights group alleged that UDA failed to remit Sh69 million in Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxes during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years, despite disbursing over KSh128 million in net salaries.
The rights lobby accused the party of deliberately failing to deduct and remit statutory taxes, even as it remained the largest beneficiary of the Political Parties Fund. In the current 2025/26 financial year alone, UDA received more than Sh789 million from the public kitty.
“Taxpayers have every reason to demand accountability. It is our money being mismanaged and stolen. We have every reason to be enraged, demand accountability from UDA and its luminaries,” KHRC said.
Beyond the unpaid PAYE, KHRC said the ruling party also failed to remit withholding tax and the public procurement capacity-building levy, in breach of the Public Finance Management Act.
The commission further accused UDA of failing to make mandatory contributions to the National Social Security Fund and the Social Health Authority under the Social Health Insurance framework, exposing employees to the risk of losing critical social protection benefits.
KHRC noted that although UDA has been one of the strongest proponents of the Affordable Housing programme, it failed to remit the mandatory housing levy for its own employees.
“Clearly, the party does not believe in its own vision of affordable housing,” the commission said.
KHRC cited multiple legal breaches, including the Income Tax Act, the Affordable Housing Act, the National Social Security Fund Act, the Public Procurement Capacity Building Levy Order, and the Public Finance Management Act.
“Failing to meet tax, statutory, and constitutional duties weakens support for socio-economic rights like education and health,”the commission noted.
It warned that non-compliance by entities benefiting from public funds undermines the State’s ability to finance essential services, particularly education and health, which currently face funding shortfalls of Sh260 billion and Sh72 billion, respectively.
The commission is now calling for coordinated action by key oversight agencies. It wants the Kenya Revenue Authority to recover all outstanding taxes and penalties, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties to review UDA’s compliance and eligibility for public funding, and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate possible misuse of public resources.
KHRC also urged the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, working jointly with KRA and EACC, to prosecute officials found responsible for the alleged tax evasion and financial misconduct.
