Back in 2014 I was in touch with Nairobi-based Tax Justice Network Africa, as they prepared to take the Kenyan government to court over its tax treaty with Mauritius, signed in 2012. The treaty seemed a pretty poor deal for Kenya, lacking adequate anti-abuse protection, preventing Kenya from imposing withholding tax on technical fees, and restricting its ability to impose capital gains tax, which it was in the process of introducing. It has taken more than four years, but on Friday the High Court ruled, and it has declared the ratification of the treaty in Kenya to be invalid.
This is a landmark case, because tax treaties are usually technical instruments that undergo only cursory parliamentary scrutiny, if any at all. For a civil society organisation to challenge one in court, let alone win, is quite astonishing. Kenyans I know were excited by the possibilities of the country’s new constitution, and this shows their optimism was not misplaced!
TJN-A argued that the treaty was unconstitutional for two reasons: in content terms, the treaty would lead to an unacceptable loss of revenue; in process terms, it should have been subject to public consultation and approval by parliament. The court actually sided against TJN-A on both counts, stating among other things that it should have provided figures for the revenue lost (which should make it untenable for governments to refuse to do the same) and that consultation with Kenya Revenue Authority constituted adequate public participation. The ruling is that the statutory instrument giving effect to the treaty should have been laid before parliament, and was not. I disagree with a lot if what is in this judgement, but its political impact is nonetheless huge and welcome, as this message from TJN-A’s Alvin Mosioma illustrates:
Here are a few documents for reference:
TJN-A’s press release summarising their argument
My expert opinion submitted to the court by TJN-A (pdf)
TJN-A’s press release on the judgement
Martin Hearson 
Good news!