26/11/2025
Kenya’s Inequality Crisis: A Nation Split Between Extreme Wealth and Deepening Poverty
Kenya is facing a worsening inequality emergency, with rapid economic growth benefiting a tiny elite while millions sink deeper into poverty, according to a new Oxfam report, Kenya’s Inequality Crisis: The Great Economic Divide. The report warns that without urgent reforms, the gap between rich and poor will continue to destabilise the country and undermine long-term development.
The findings are stark: the richest 125 Kenyans own more wealth than 42.6 million citizens—77% of the population. Between 2019 and 2023, the richest 1% took nearly two-fifths of all newly generated wealth, while the bottom half grew poorer by 4%. Since 2015, seven million more Kenyans have fallen into extreme poverty, marking a 37% surge.
Oxfam attributes this crisis to a system “rigged by and for the rich,” rooted in entrenched colonial structures and elite capture. Regions historically labelled “unproductive,” especially Kenya’s ASAL areas, remain severely underdeveloped. Land—Kenya’s most important asset—remains concentrated in the hands of a few, particularly in Nairobi, where ownership patterns continue colonial and post-independence patronage.
Regressive taxation worsens the divide. Over half of Kenya’s tax revenue comes from VAT on everyday goods, while wealth-based incomes such as capital gains remain lightly taxed. Recent flat-rate levies for housing and health have squeezed low-income earners further. The labour market, marked by 85% informality, gender pay gaps, and declining real wages, continues to push women into low-paid, insecure work and disproportionate unpaid care roles.
Public services are deteriorating under the weight of an unsustainable public debt. In 2024, 68% of all tax revenue went to debt servicing—double the 2017 level—surpassing education spending twofold and health spending fifteenfold. Public schools suffer from frozen funding since 2003, while the rushed rollout of the Social Health Insurance Fund has left millions in the informal sector without coverage. Social protection remains minimal, reaching only 9% of citizens; flagship programmes provide less than half the income needed to escape extreme poverty.
The report outlines a bold reform agenda: set measurable inequality-reduction targets; expand universal public services; introduce progressive taxation, including a wealth tax; strengthen labour rights and support SMEs; and restructure national debt with international cooperation.
Oxfam concludes that inequality is a policy choice—and with political will, Kenya can reverse the trend. Without decisive action, the nation risks deepening social and economic fractures with far-reaching consequences.
