By Pascal Ndegwa - Reporter
Kenya, October 14 ,2026 - Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna on Wednesday escalated his public clash with President William Ruto, turning the President’s criticism of his housing levy contribution into a broader attack on multiple deductions paid by formal workers.
In a widely circulated post, Sifuna asked whether Ruto was “done ranting about the 24K I pay for his housing scam,” before pointing to the KSh43,000 he says he pays monthly for the Social Health Authority (SHA) and the KSh500,000 he pays in PAYE. He accused the government of taking large sums from taxpayers while “splashing” money on tea and mandazi at State House and insulting the same people who fund it.
Sifuna closed with a clear political pledge: “In 2027 we are cutting the fat out of our budget to bring relief to all Kenyan workers. The housing levy will go with Ruto.”
The post quickly generated strong reactions online. One detailed response by Kipkalya Kones framed the exchange as a contrast between Sifuna offering policy positions and Ruto responding with personal insults. Kones listed several of Sifuna’s recent statements , on the rule of law, the suitability of high-rise housing in rural settings, sealing wastage, and the need for equitable opportunities ,against what he described as Ruto’s pattern of name-calling. He argued that Sifuna has been dropping governance and policy ideas while the President’s responses have been largely rhetorical.
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Another reaction focused on the numbers themselves. A user noted that paying KSh24,000 in housing levy and KSh43,000 for SHA implies a gross monthly pay in the region of KSh1.6 million, and questioned whether such high public-sector remuneration is sustainable in an economy of Kenya’s size. The same comment stressed that Kenyans have a right to demand accountability for every shilling deducted and that the real test is whether the levies are delivering better housing, healthcare and services.
The exchange highlights a deeper tension. Formal-sector workers continue to carry a heavy load of statutory deductions (housing levy, SHA, PAYE and others), while questions remain about the quality and reach of the services those deductions are meant to fund. Sifuna’s intervention has pushed the conversation beyond the housing levy alone and into the broader issue of the cumulative tax and levy burden on salaried Kenyans , and what a future government would do differently.
Whether the pledge to scrap the housing levy becomes a defining opposition platform for 2027 will depend on how consistently it is developed into a wider fiscal and social policy alternative. For now, Sifuna has succeeded in keeping the cost of living and the accountability of public spending firmly on the political agenda.