The Sh50 Fee That Could Jail Mbadi, Murkomen, Kabogo, and Ogamba

Four Cabinet Secretaries are potentially facing legal action following accusations of disregarding a High Court order that prohibited the government from levying a Sh50 convenience fee on transactions via the e-Citizen platform. 

Dr Magare-Gikenyi, a surgeon based in Nakuru, has formally applied to the High Court, seeking contempt proceedings against Cabinet Secretaries John Mbadi (National Treasury), Kipchumba Murkomen (Interior), William Kabogo (ICT and Digital Economy), and Julius Ogamba (Education). Also named are Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner-General Humphrey Wattanga and Attorney-General Dorcas Oduor. Dr Gikenyi alleges they wilfully ignored Justice Chacha Mwita’s binding court judgment issued on 1 April. 

Justice Mwita's ruling deemed the Sh50 fee—or its foreign currency equivalent—unconstitutional, describing it as an untransparent form of double taxation without legal basis. The judgment also invalidated a government directive mandating school fees and other public institution levies be paid exclusively through e-Citizen, citing the lack of clarity on the fee’s beneficiaries and intended purpose.

Despite the court's explicit position, Dr Gikenyi asserts the government has continued to impose the charge, thereby undermining judicial authority. 

“The judgment was meant for obedience and nothing else,” he said in his affidavit, adding that no stay orders have been issued by the Court of Appeal or any other competent authority. 

He argues that the continued collection of the fee constitutes an illegal and unconstitutional loss to the public, for which the named officials should be held personally accountable. Legal analysts warn such conduct erodes public trust in the rule of law, establishing a dangerous precedent for governance. Dr Gikenyi’s petition urges the court to assert its constitutional mandate by sanctioning those found in contempt, thereby reinforcing judicial independence and the supremacy of the law.