This archive report was first published on 6 July 2021.
On June 23, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) issued a summons to billionaire Mary Wambui Mungai, one of the key financiers of the Jubilee Party, over a tax debt of Sh2.5 billion.
The taxman alleged that Mungai was culpable in unpaid taxes from government contracts in Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa), the military among others.
According to the summons, the commissioner had reason to believe that Mungai was connected to or had information that would assist in investigations into the identified offenses.
However, Mungai failed to appear before KRA bosses on June 25 and June 28, prompting the taxman to pursue her for arrest.
Her daughters, Everlyn Nyambura and Purity Njoki, obtained a court order barring their arrest, citing that their mother was out of the country in Zambia and that the two were no longer part of her businesses.
The daughters claimed that they had been listed as directors when they were minors but chose to pursue other interests later in life.
As part of KRA's revenue enhancement initiatives, the pursuit of Mungai is aimed at meeting its Sh6 trillion revenue target by 2024.
In the just-ended financial year, 2020/21, the enhanced recovery of tax arrears helped collect Sh93.7 billion from companies.
