Gachagua, Fazul take workers' tax fight to 2027 ballot

Democracy for the Citizens Part leader Rigathi Gachagua with former Private Security Regulatory Authority Director General Fazul Mahamed during a  meeting in Nairobi.  

The battle over Kenya's shrinking payslips is shaping into an early 2027 campaign issue as political leaders rally workers against heavy taxation and rising deductions.

On Monday, Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua and former Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) Director General Fazul Mahamed met at Gachagua's Karen office in Nairobi and agreed to launch a nationwide sensitisation campaign centred on workers' welfare and taxation.

The two leaders said formal sector workers, numbering 3.3 million according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), had seen their take-home pay reduced by taxes, levies and the rising cost of living, noting the issue should become a key agenda item for voters at the next general election.

"The payslip must be protected," Gachagua said, vowing to shield workers from what he termed unfair taxation and illegal levies.

The meeting came days after Gachagua and Fazul launched the 2026 Workers Welfare Report and Labour Market Survey at Radisson Blu Hotel, Nairobi Upper Hill, a forum organised by the Kenya Management and Supervisors' Workers Union that sharpened both leaders' criticism of the government's labour policies.

The two also pledged to push for stronger protections for informal sector workers.

KNBS data shows the sector employed 18.1 million people in 2025, accounting for the overwhelming share of Kenya's labour force, with earnings often unstable and social protections limited.