• Eugene said the vehicle that initially belonged to one Grace Wambui was sold to him but he did not have the importation documents to know whether duty was paid or not.
Devolution CS Eugene Wamalwa on Friday told a Nairobi court that he was not the importer of a Range Rover seized by the Kenya Revenue Authority in 2015 over alleged Sh6.5 million tax evasion.
Eugene said the vehicle that initially belonged to one Grace Wambui was sold to him but he did not have the importation documents to know whether duty was paid or not.
The CS's car was among the vehicles listed in a public notice by KRA in May 2016 over tax evasion.
He appeared in court to testify against five people who have denied conspiracy to evade payment of duty.
According to the charge sheet, John Malogo, Elijah Mwenesi, George Opanga, Kevin Hamisi, Heartland Trading Limited, Edwin Omondi and Joshua Ayalo at JKIA airport customs warehouse on July 16, 2015, conspired to evade payment of Sh6.5 million duty for the car.
The CS told magistrate Martha Mutuku that the seizure of the vehicle caused him embarrassment and he eventually had to surrender it to the taxman.
“At the time I purchased it, I knew import duty had been paid. But later I received a notice from KRA that the vehicle I had purchased ought to be surrendered as duty had not been paid. I was an innocent buyer who paid the full amount to the seller before taking ownership of the car,” he said.
The CS told the court that on the face of the log books which were adduced in court as exhibits, duty had been paid.