City car dealer Khalif Kairo charged with Ksh.1.2M tax fraud

City businessman Joseph Kairo Wambui, alias Khalif Kairo was on Monday charged at Nyeri Law Court with tax fraud of Ksh.1.2 million.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) accuses Wambui, who owns the car dealership Kai & Karo Limited, of knowingly mis-declaring a Range Rover Vogue as a used Range Rover Sport on January 10, 2024, to evade payment of customs duty of Kshs.1,283,830.

He was charged with being knowingly concerned with fraudulent evasion of payment of duty.

Wambui pleaded not guilty and was granted a bond of Ksh.500,000.

The case will be mentioned on June 4, 2025.

The embattled businessman faces a jail term not exceeding three years or a fine not exceeding Ksh.1 million if found guilty. 

Wambui has been arrested, rearrested, and arraigned several times in the past year over accusations of swindling his customers.

In January, the businessman was brought before the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi for allegedly defrauding two clients out of Ksh.2.1 million and Ksh.2.9 million, respectively. 

Per court documents, Kairo deceived a customer between July 10 and July 29, 2024, in Westlands, Nairobi under the pretence of facilitating the importation of a Honda SUV from Japan, which was never delivered.

In the second incident, the businessman is accused of obtaining money from a customer in July 2024 for a Subaru SUV, and detectives say the car was not delivered despite being paid in full. 

He was re-arrested later that month after a court appearance for similar accusations.

Previously, the prosecution has pointed out that Wambui is a potential flight risk with the means and potential to evade justice if released.

A day before his arrest on January 11, for instance, the court heard that the accused purchased an airline ticket and was scheduled to fly to New York, U.S. on January 12.

Police said he told them that he was planning a trip to New York to secure funds and return to settle the matter.