This archive report was first published on 13 May 2020.
On May 13, 2020, the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of MultiChoice Kenya, allowing the pay-TV operator to recover Sh153 million from former Kandara MP Maina Kamau.
The amount was meant to be taxes payable to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for satellite dishes and decoders imported in 2009 during Kenya's television digital migration.
However, Maina Kamau's logistics firm, Mainkam Limited, failed to remit the taxes as agreed, resulting in a KRA audit that uncovered the non-remittance.
MultiChoice Kenya moved to court in 2012 and, on September 24, 2019, Justice William Tuiyot issued an order compelling Mainkam to refund the amount together with interest.
But Mainkam was aggrieved by the ruling and filed an appeal as well as an application to stop execution of the judgment.
Justice Mohammed Warsame, Gatembu Kairu, and Jamila Mohammed ruled that MultiChoice Ltd, being a well-known international company of good repute, would be able to refund the money should Mainkam's appeal succeed.
"It is plainly obvious to us that the respondent (Multichoice) has been deprived of the use of their Sh153,457,809 for a considerable period through the acts of the applicants (Mr Kamau and Mainkam) thus exposing their business to incur losses," the bench ruled.
