Rotich appoints James Mburu as next taxman

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has announced the appointment of James Githii Mburu as Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)’s next Commissioner General.

In a Kenya Gazette issue dated June 6, 2019 released on Thursday, Rotich said that Mburu has been appointed as top taxman for three years. He will take over the mantle from John Njiraini on July 1, 2019.

Mburu has been serving as the Commissioner of Intelligence and Operations at Times Tower.

He has gazumped Julius Waita Mwatu, Richard Boro Ndung’u, Andrew Kazora Okello and Duncan Otieno Nduru, who had also been shortlisted for appointment by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), to the lucrative position.

However, Mburu’s appointment is not straightforward. He will have to wait until a petition filed by Activist Okiya Omtatah is determined before taking office.

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On May 29, the Employment and Labour Relations Court declined to suspend his shortlisting after Omtatah sought to acquire temporary orders barring Githii’s candidacy based on allegations of being  groomed to takeover from Njiraini illegally.

“It is instructive to note that the petition sought to stop the capture of KRA through vested interests through the choreographing of the 1st interested party (Mburu) to succeed Njiraini as Commissioner General of KRA,” read Omtatah’s petition.

The court directed the the parties be served and the matter be heard inter partes on June 13.

{See also: KRA appoints two more commissioners}

In his petition, Omtatah also claimed that Mburu is Njiraini’s relative.

Omtatah also wanted the court to bar the KRA board of directors from validating the decision to shortlist Mburu.

His appointment to his current job at KRA was also questioned by Auditor General Edward Ouko as it was not done competitively.

Mburu was  instrumental in leading investigations that led to the recent arrest of dozens of KRA junior and middle-level staff members accused of conniving with taxpayers to evade tax obligations.