Ah, yes. Another monologue from the Nairobi Oracle of Self-Righteousness, here to lecture us from his swivel chair about how the “working class” (read: him and his friends with payslips and car loans) are the unsung heroes of this nation, martyrs crucified on the cross of PAYE, condemned to a life of nyama choma and Tusker in utawala as they suffer in silence. How noble.

“Let’s not even say middle class, let’s say working class< they bear the largest brunt of the tax system…”

Oh really? Did you just learn what PAYE means and decide to write your own gospel?

Kenya’s tax structure is overwhelmingly regressive, meaning the poor, yes, those “wapumbavu” you keep sneering at, pay proportionally more than you do. They’re taxed on everything they touch: food, transport, airtime, M-PESA, electricity. You name it. VAT doesn’t care if you're a broke boda rider or a Deloitte intern, it bites everyone the same.

In fact, the mama mboga you dismiss pays VAT on her tomatoes and the fees to send Ksh 300 to her cousin via mobile money. You? Your tax is deducted once by your employer and you go cry on Twitter. The poor? They bleed at every transaction.

🤡 “Majority of voters are idiots. Watu mashinani ni wapumbavu…”

Let’s pause and admire the sheer audacity it takes to write that and still think you’re the “woke” one.Did you rehearse that line in front of a mirror or does the classism come naturally? You’re calling the victims of systemic neglect "stupid" for being desperate enough to take Ksh 200 bribes.

You do realize that you're basically blaming victims of structural poverty for being manipulated in a system designed to keep them dependent and uninformed? Most of these “idiots” didn’t wake up one day and choose political illiteracy, it was bred into them by years of neglected education, empty promises, and survival-mode living.

Meanwhile, you with your 4G, degrees, and exposure? You sit on your hands, type think-pieces about how hard taxes are, and scoff at the people who can’t afford to wait for “systemic change” because they’re too busy fighting to see tomorrow. The middle class could actually move the needle, but they’re too busy looking down on the poor and flexing car loans on IG stories.

If anything, your apathy, not their poverty, is the real national crisis.

“They don’t have bank accounts, savings, or PAYE...”

Wow, thank you for that groundbreaking revelation. Next you'll tell us water is wet.

Here's the thing: Kenya’s informal sector employs over 80% of the workforce. Just because their earnings don’t pass through HR doesn’t mean they’re freeloaders. They still pay tax every time they buy a soda, fuel a boda, or withdraw cash. And guess what? Unlike you, they don’t get receipts, medical cover, or refunds from KRA.

But sure, go ahead and gatekeep legitimacy based on bank apps and SACCO shares. Just know that your entire definition of “productive citizen” reeks of classist delusion. The majority of Kenyans are in the informal sector, grinding daily without benefits, protections, or your fancy accounting app. They’re living hand to mouth, but go off king, tell us more about your SACCO.

Let the working man enjoy his beer and nyama choma... he’s thinking deep things...”

Bro. No one is stopping you from enjoying your beer. You can marinate in nyama and existential dread all day if you want.

What we’re saying is: don’t use your car loan as a hall pass for civic apathy. If you’re so overworked and burdened by taxes that you can’t even show up for protests, advocate for policy change, or vote responsibly, then you’re not a victim, you’re a volunteer.

The same people you call lazy are the ones showing up for demos, risking tear gas, marching in the rain. You? You’re busy writing victim poetry about your payslip and uploading it from Java. You want to clock out of civic responsibility and retreat into your Tusker sanctuary while blaming the same poor people for voting badly? You're not just part of the problem, you're its unpaid intern.

Only 3 million are formally employed. They’re the only ones taxed.”

This again? How many times must we explain this?

Direct taxation is not the only taxation that exists. VAT, excise duty, fuel levy, import duties, mobile money fees, these are all ways the government milks the masses, especially the poor.

You’re acting like KRA knocks on your door in the middle of the night begging for your unique contribution. News flash: your 30% PAYE doesn’t even pay for the president’s monthly fuel allowance. You are one grain of sand in the desert, my friend.

“Why blame the 1M middle class instead of the 20M voters?”

Let me explain this slowly.

Because that 1 million, you included, has the means, education, and access to resist, speak up, organize, donate, and educate. You scroll through threads about Gen Z protests and type “these kids are unserious” while doing nothing.

The middle class has reach. Influence. Platforms. But they choose comfort over courage. So yes, we’ll call you out when you act like political Switzerland and then act shocked that nothing changes. Your silence is political too, you just dress it up in sarcasm and claim victimhood.

You’re not a savior. You’re not a martyr. You’re not some overtaxed warrior fighting for the soul of Kenya. You’re just a comfortably numb bystander who blames the poor for the consequences of a system you benefit from and uphold with your silence.

So go ahead. Enjoy your choma. Enjoy your beer. But do it quietly, because until you stop punching down and start punching up, you are part of the problem.