An IMF advisor Andrew Okello and KRA commissioner James Mburu are among candidates who are eyeing the Commissioner General Job at Kenya Revenue Authority.
Okello was the domestic tax manager before his appointment as the International Monetary Fund(IMF) regional advisor in charge of East and Central Africa on tax matters.
In his new capacity, he advises the IMF on strategic tax matters. Okello has been credited with the major tax reforms at KRA, that saw the authority introduce various reforms, including the tax registers project.
Okello and Commissioner of Custom Services Rose Namu made history when they became the first serving KRA staff to be appointed commissioners via competitive interviews.
Mburu, who is the Commissioner for Intelligence and Strategic Operations, is one of the top KRA officials behind the latest arrests of his colleagues this week.
“He is among those eyeing to take over from Njiraini. He is the one behind all these arrests you have witnessed because he wants to be seen as a performer,” said a source.
This comes at a time when KRA has recalled its current Commissioner General to help handle what seems like a crisis at the revenue collection agency following the arrests.
John Njiraini, who has been at the helm of KRA for a total six years in two terms of three years each, got an extension in 2017 after agreeing to forfeit his leave days. He is expected to vacate office at the end of June.
Njiraini reached the mandatory retirement age of 60 on December 19, 2017.
During his time, Njiraini has embraced technology in a bid to increase the number of Kenyans remitting their taxes. The launch of the iTax platform has enabled more people to remit their VAT and PAYE returns, with 4 million Kenyans expected to remit returns by end of June.
