Kikuyu, Kalenjin rivalry at KRA – Weekly Citizen

Acting Treasury CS Ukur Yattani

When Henry Rotich took office as William Ruto’s man of choice to take care of his interests at the country’s most lucrative office, it was not only a blessing to the Kalenjins but it was a beginning to the mafia war at both Treasury and Kenya Revenue Authority.
As the Mt Kenya mafia wanted to fill all the primary positions with their own so as to tame and keep a close watch on Rotich’s moves and at the same time find ways to systematically make life difficult at the ministry for him, the Rift Valley mafia were ahead of them for they had their own already in those positions.
Weekly Citizen has information that when Rotich was removed from the plum slot, Uhuru Kenyatta was under pressure to have a Kikuyu replace Rotich at treasury but was advised to pick a neutral person hence Ukur Yattani in acting capacity.

James Mburu

The fear was with a Kikuyu James Mburu being the Commissioner General at Kenya Revenue, having replaced John Njiraini, the move would backfire and further split troubled ruling Jubilee.
In fact is is said that a Luo was to head KRA after Njiraini exist but fear was Ruto camp was to feel short changed with Uhuru and ODM leader Raila Odinga handshake deal in plum government appointment.
So any positions the Mt Kenya Mafia wanted to head at the treasury, there was a Kalenjin as the deputy closely monitoring the activities therein and so it was at the KRA.
Sensing the importance of No 5 KRA station inside the port of Mombasa, which is the station that decides and determines the tax income at Treasury through earned taxes each quarter via import duty, the central mafia pushed for the appointment of one of them. They decided to throw out the clueless officer who was in charge then and brought in one Joseph Kaguru to help them access duty free importation of goods at the port of Mombasa without any hindrance from the Treasury.
The ruthless Kaguru delivered what he was chosen to do effectively, for he had all the protection he required from Mt Kenya Mafia.
This is the only known KRA officer said to have released thousands of cargo containers from the port of Mombasa without proper clearance documentation, no taxes paid for the same and no questions asked.
Among the beneficiaries was husband of Senator Kihika Kimani, Samuel Mburu in Sh64 million undervalued imported goods that landed him in court.
KRA also seized six top-of-the-range vehicles belonging to Mburu.
Mburu’s brother Hillary Kamau was not spared. They run Landmark Freight Services Limited that they are accused of using to commit the crimes.
Landmark and two other companies, Gendipe Enterprises and Rupai Trading Limited were on radar.
Even the Kenya Ports Authority bosses and their port security personnel never questioned Kaburu’s decisions when it came to releasing untaxed cargo.

Henry Rotich

It became worse during the period towards the general election 2017 and the Mt Kenya folks were in need of funds to finance the re-election of Uhuru, almost all imports by any Kikuyu would pass through the port without paying the required taxation thus the low tax collection by the tax collector at that time.
All that was needed, according to those who were close to these operations at the Mombasa port, was to have tens of millions handed over to Kaguru in Mombasa, them give out the list of cargo containers that should be released, have their transport ready outside the port, then let the KRA officer swing into action.
It is said that Kaguru would facilitate all the involved departments with cash to make sure the operations were carried out fast and as smoothly as possible. Not even the port police officers would raise a finger, but instead they would help the movement of the said cargo run as smoothly as required by Kaguru.
Kaguru became a billionaire in a short time, bought expensive plots in Nyali, Mombasa and started construction of an estate which is currently one of the top classes in Mombasa today.
His deputy, one Paul Boio, had by this time been rendered useless by his senior and his office was left to handle only petty issues which never allowed him the peace of income generation using his senior position.
He resorted to carrying out unauthorised auction of warehoused goods and he eventually became popular with the wheelerdealers of Mombasa port. Buy the time it backfired, he confronted Kaguru with a list of cargo containers he had released without following the KRA procedure and told him to go ahead and do a report about him, as Boio said he would have him exposed at no time. Kaguru backed off.
There emerged bad blood between the two senior KRA officers forcing Kaguru to abandon his home in Mombasa and instead started flying in Mombasa from his Nairobi residence every day and returning each evening.
He flew to and from Mombasa every day of his work, for fear of being attacked until the time he was transferred to Kisumu.
Now that the Kalenjin lost CS Rotich, who has been providing some kind of protection to them at their work places, there is bound to be a rundown by Mt Kenya who have been eyeing a number of lucrative positions which have been held by their Kalenjin counterparts.
Two have been fighting for most at KRA and Treasury plum posts. Currenty , the Mt Kenya mafia have outdone their Kalenjin counterparts going by the top positions they hold at KRA.