• He was appointed Commissioner of Intelligence and Strategic operations in March 2017.
• Through the intelligence network he set up, high profile tax evasion attempts have been blown up with severe consequences for those involved.
Image: COURTESY
The newly appointed KRA’s new Commissioner General James Githii Mburu is a man loved and feared in equal measure by both friends and foes.
At the age of 47, Githii was selected out of a field of 30 applicants that ultimately narrowed down to a final shortlist of five that included prominent names from the international arena and the local corporate world.
His appointment takes effect on July 1, 2019, upon the retirement of current KRA Commissioner General, John Njiraini at the end of June.
In his current role as KRA’s chief of intelligence, Mburu developed a formidable intelligence gathering infrastructure that has brought grief the plans of many a tax evader.
During his tenure which started with his appointment in March 2017, the new KRA boss has overseen complex and highly sensitive tax investigations touching on powerfully connected companies and individuals.
No surprise then that he has been a turbulent tenure with legal suits filed by activist Omkiya Omtata seeking to block his appointment both as Commissioner of Intelligence and most recently a candidate for Commissioner General.
Insiders familiar with the recent recruitment say concerted efforts were mounted both internally and externally seeking to block his appointment as KRA boss with the bulk of them driven by fears about his stringent position regarding tax evasion and corruption amongst KRA staff.
Through the intelligence network, he set up, high profile tax evasion attempts have been blown up with severe consequences for those involved.
Some of the more prominent ones include the abortive attempt in 2017 by Darasa Investments Limited in which taxes in excess of three billion shillings would have been lost through irregular duty-free sugar importation.
Image: COURTESY
In 2018, intelligence helped to bust a multi-billion shilling tax evasion scheme by Chinese building materials retailer Housemart, a matter which is still pending before the courts.
Prominent personalities who ended up on the KRA intelligence boss’s radar include former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and his advocate Professor Tom Ojienda both of whom are fighting multi-million tax evasion cases.
Mburu’s most recent assignments have included the high profile tax evasion investigation against Humphrey Kariuki’s Thika based Africa Spirits factory and corruption investigations into fraudulent activities that led to the arrest last month of close to eighty KRA staff.
He joined KRA 12 years ago in May 2007 with a brief to strengthen tax audit operations for the domestic taxes department.
He rose through the ranks serving as second in command at the tax investigations department until February 2017.
He was appointed Commissioner of Intelligence and Strategic operations in March 2017, a docket responsible for intelligence management, corruption investigations, cyber surveillance and local and international tax information exchange.
The department is also tasked with representing KRA in government-wide law enforcement initiatives including at the Multi-Agency Taskforce.
Prior to joining KRA, Mburu worked as technical standards officer at the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya, where he met his current boss and outgoing KRA Commissioner General, John Njiraini.
He briefly worked at CFC bank before rejoining his former boss, who had at the time joined KRA in April 2006 as Commissioner of Domestic Taxes.
Insiders say that the outgoing KRA boss has high regard for Mburu’s competence and uncompromising stand towards tax evasion.
Mburu is reputed to have been a close confidant of the outgoing boss.
In a gazette notice dated June 6, Treasury CS Henry Rotich confirmed the appointment of Githii for a three-year period effective July 1, 2019.
He was among the 30 applicants who had applied to KRA board for the position.
Activist Okiyo Omtata had moved to court trying to stop him from the shortlisted individuals, claiming he is a relative of the outgoing boss John Njiraini.
In 2017, Omtatah filed a case in which he challenged the creation of the vacancy for Githii.
Omtatah at the time argued that Githii had been handpicked to fill the position in a drawn-out scheme to rig the appointment of the commissioner general.