Of Taxes And Thieves: Why Kenya, The ‘Singapore’ That Never Was, Still Stinks Worse Than Hell

In Kenya, every day begins with a new call for fundraising—an emergency hospital bill, a school fees crisis, a community road project. We have become masters at rallying each other for help, using WhatsApp groups and M-Changa platforms to gather funds for problems that our taxes should already cover. But this cycle of private solutions to public problems reveals a deeper, systemic issue: our government, entrusted with our resources, fails to deliver. When we turn to private solutions, we merely mask the symptoms while ignoring the disease—the rampant theft and mismanagement of public funds. These problems persist not because we lack resources but because those meant to manage them steal, squander, or misuse them. Fundraising, then, becomes a distraction—a temporary fix that allows the corrupt to evade accountability.

Every fundraiser we launch is an indictment of the system that fails us. It’s a glaring reminder that despite paying taxes that fund the luxurious lifestyles of a few, basic services remain inaccessible to the majority. Instead of having quality public hospitals, well-equipped schools, and functional infrastructure, we are forced to pay twice—once through taxes and again through fundraising—to access what should be our right. And in our desperate attempts to solve these crises privately, we fail to confront the truth: that the very taxes we pay are funding our misery, as officials line their pockets and build fortunes off our hardships. This endless cycle keeps us trapped in a perpetual state of crisis management, distracting us from the real battle for systemic change.

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We must connect the dots and ask ourselves why, despite billions allocated annually to healthcare, education, and infrastructure, we still find ourselves scrambling to raise money for emergencies. The reality is that our taxes are looted long before they can translate into meaningful services. Reports from the Auditor General show how billions earmarked for crucial services vanish into ghost projects, inflated tenders, and the pockets of officials. We cannot escape this reality by throwing money at private solutions. Instead, we must channel our energy into demanding that these taxes work for us. The misery we face daily—from broken hospitals to inaccessible schools—is a direct result of unchecked corruption. Until we confront this head-on, our lives will remain defined by a string of desperate fundraisers.

Our lives are miserable not because we lack resources but because we fail to hold those in power accountable. The wealthy and the politically connected steal our future and convince us to accept it as fate. We must wake up to the truth: no amount of private intervention will solve public problems created by corruption and incompetence. If our taxes fund the services they should, we wouldn’t need to rely on family and friends to solve crises. It’s time we demand more and hold our leaders accountable. Otherwise, we will continue to live like beggars in a land where we are already taxed like kings.

In Kenya, taxes are the gospel of the land—citizens are coerced into tithing 60% of their earnings to a state apparatus that claims to serve them, only for those taxes to vanish into the pockets of a few, leaving the country barren. Despite our contributions, our hospitals crumble, our schools decay, and our roads erode. And instead of wielding our power to demand accountability, we rush to patch public failures with private band-aids. It’s time we connect the dots between our servitude, the theft of our resources, and the miserable lives we lead.

First, consider healthcare. Public hospitals, despite billions allocated, remain death traps. In 2022 alone, the Ministry of Health’s budget stood at KES 122 billion, yet over KES 50 billion was looted through procurement scams. As Kenyans die in under-equipped facilities, the elite flock to private hospitals or fly abroad for treatment. We, the taxpayers, respond by turning to WhatsApp groups and fundraisers. Does this not speak of a broken system, wher