PRESIDENT RUTO STRESSES THE URGENCY TO ADDRESS YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN KENYA.

To address this grave situation, officials from all three branches of government must work together, as President William Ruto has emphasized. Unemployment is an existential threat to Kenya.

The President reiterated his call for the judiciary to refrain from impeding government initiatives aimed at addressing unemployment, such as the Affordable Housing Project, which aims to create millions of job opportunities for the nation's youth, during the inauguration of the Kieni Kiandege – Mworoga – Maraa road in Meru County on Saturday.

We must have an open discussion on unemployment in Kenya as a country. Many young people in our society have finished their schooling but are still without employment. "We are dedicated to executing an all-encompassing strategy that includes housing, digital jobs, and labor export to give our young people meaningful work," he said.

Following a recent Court of Appeal decision that ruled the Housing Levy unlawful while an appeal is still underway, the President made these statements.

Justices Lydia Achode, John Mativo, and Mwaniki Gachoka said, "In our opinion, the public interest resides in waiting for the appeal to be decided

They went on to say that if the appeal court maintains the original ruling, granting a stay at this point would have significant ramifications that could influence acts made by the statutes that are being contested.

The imposition of the fee was deemed discriminatory by the High Court, which had previously found that it unfairly targeted salaried Kenyan workers while exempting those in the informal sector. According to Justice Majanja, who read the bench's ruling, the levy revision violated Article 10, 2(a) of the Constitution and lacked a thorough legal basis.

Judge Majanja ruled that the levy was unjustified, discriminatory, unreasonable, arbitrary, and in violation of the Constitution because it only applied to formal employment.