Kidero’s Battle to Keep Ksh427M in His Bank Account

Former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero is locked in a battle with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over a bank account of his containing over Ksh427 million.

The ex-Governor on Tuesday, February 15 obtained a c*********r barring the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) from seizing the cash in his account.

KRA had sought to have NCBA Bank transfer the funds to their accounts claiming undeclared taxes by Kidero. They cited a High Court ruling delivered by Hon. David Majanja on February 7 ordering Kidero to pay tax amounting to Ksh427,269,795.

The ruling followed an audit conducted by the Commissioner for Domestic Taxes (DTD) on the financial and business affairs of Dr. Kidero.

Despite the former governor and the Commissioner reaching a consensus that funds raised for political party campaigns are not chargeable to tax, both parties failed to agree on whether Dr. Kidero who was then vying for Nairobi gubernatorial seat had demonstrated the funds so raised had actually been expended in political campaigns.

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Kidero is appealing the judgement. In court documents, he slammed the taxman’s attempt to seize the cash.

“The tax claimed is grossly excessive, punitive and the respondent (KRA) would suffer no p*******e should stay of e*******n be granted,” he stated.

Kidero’s wealth includes several high end real estate assets and stocks. His net worth is a reported Ksh9 Billion.

On the KRA tax claim which covers a five-year period, Kidero maintains that he received donations for his political campaign from friends and well wishers.

In the February 7 ruling, Justice Majanja held that the burden of proof was on Dr. Kidero to demonstrate that the funds raised for the campaigns were actually utilized for that purpose – noting that this would not constitute taxable income.

If the money was retained or diverted to his own personal use, however, it would be taxable income to him and liable to income tax.

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