This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
On August 22, 2019, officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations arrested Tabitha Karanja and her husband Joseph at their Naivasha-based company, Keroche Industries, following an order by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji.
The couple was accused of failing to pay taxes amounting to Sh14 billion from 2015, an allegation they deny. In a statement, Karanja said the company has not been involved in tax evasion and was subjected to “humiliation and intimidation”.
According to the DPP, an audit by KRA established that Keroche Breweries had evaded payment of tax totalling Sh14,451,836,375. The company is accused of evading payment of Sh12.34 billion VAT for stamps (Sh329.4 million), Crescent Vodka (Sh135.4 million) among other products, as well as excise duty amounting to Sh2.1 billion for the same items.
On August 23, 2019, Anerlisa Muigai, Karanja's daughter, penned an emotional letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta asking him to intervene in the arrest of her parents.
