• He has sought a court order to bar the state from preferring criminal charges against him.
• Mbeche has sued the KRA, the inspector general of police and Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji.
Image: FILE
Acting University of Nairobi vice-chancellor Isaac Mbeche is embroiled in a legal tussle with KRA over tax arrears.
The Kenya Revenue Authority has accused the institution of withholding remittance of VAT tax and PAYE from 2015. And as a result, Mbeche has been compelled to record a statement with the police.
Mbeche is apprehensive that he may be prosecuted and that would ruin his reputation and render him jobless for a mistake not of his own making.
"My unblemished academic and professional career and the numerous years of hard work shall come to an abrupt end. Even if I'm in the end vindicated through this judicial process, my name will have already been irreparably soiled by the arraignment,” he said.
Mbeche has sought a court order to bar the state from preferring criminal charges against him, pending the determination of his application. He has sued the KRA, the inspector general of police and Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji.
His trouble began on October 6 when he was summoned to appear before the police to record a statement on the investigations relating to allegations that the university has failed to remit PAYE and VAT taxes since 2015.
The university, he says, has been writing letters to the taxman, the Treasury and the Education ministry for the past two years explaining how it has been experiencing difficulty in remitting PAYE because of government capitation.
In his explanation, Mbeche said the government was meant to remit Sh836 million per month to the university for salary and house allowances. However, what has been released is only Sh424 million per month for basic pay.
“As a result, the university is only able to pay its employees the net basic pay, exclusive of all statutory deductions. Non-remittance of PAYE for university employees to KRA is thus a direct result of the shortfall in government capitation by a sum of Sh424 million per month," Mbeche said in suit papers filed through lawyer Fred Ngatia.
He says he honoured the summons and appeared before the police even though he was not to blame. The professor says the police informed him that he is the one liable for non-remittance of the statutory deductions and that he will be prosecuted.
“The aforesaid threat of prosecution is meant to harass and intimidate me as no investigations have been undertaken, neither have I been found culpable for the non-remittance of the PAYE to the KRA," he said.
When he appeared before police offices, he was treated inhumanely by being held in office from 10am to 3.30pm and was flatly denied the opportunity to take a lunch break, he said.
"The investigating officers treated me as if I was an arrested and or accused person. It is quite oppressive to demand remittance of PAYE whilst fully aware that the government has not made available to the university the funds with which to fulfil this statutory obligation," Mbeche said.
According to the officers, the university ought to have obtained funds from other sources to meet its tax obligations rather than sit pretty and blame it on the government.
(Edited by F'Orieny)