KRA will correct ethnic imbalance in new recruitment drive; Chairperson Ndiritu says

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Board Chairperson Ndiritu Muriithi has acknowledged past ethnic imbalances in the agency’s staffing and pledged that upcoming recruitment will reflect the diversity of Kenya’s population.

In an interview with NTV on Tuesday, Muriithi said KRA, which is currently recruiting commissioners and managers, intends to use this opportunity to build a more balanced and representative workforce.

He noted that the authority is being supported by a human resource organization to ensure fairness in the ongoing recruitment and to correct any historical disparities.

“We are recruiting four commissioners, 12 deputy commissioners, nearly 30 chief managers, and so on. I think it provides us with an opportunity to correct any imbalance that may have been there in the past. And we are well underway in that process,” he said.

There have been concerns over regional bias in KRA’s recruitment, with the tax authority accused of disproportionately hiring Kikuyu and Kalenjin candidates over the past two years.

Last year, the High Court declared the appointment of over 1,400 revenue services assistants, in which 57 percent of the jobs went to members of the two communities, unconstitutional.

Muriithi traces the overall ethnic imbalance at KRA to a specific recruitment cohort from past years, many of whom have since risen through the ranks to senior management.

“That issue came about; there was a cohort that was hired, and that's what prompted that particular difficulty. Many of our senior managers were once graduate trainees who joined the organization at that point,” he said on Tuesday.

“What happened, happened. We may not be able to fix it instantly, but I want the country to know it is a work in progress.”

Asked if this means that members of overrepresented communities could be excluded from future hiring, he said: “It’s not about locking out; it is that if you're going to hire a hundred people, you proactively decide to correct an imbalance from the past,” he said.

“There is no corner of Kenya where you won’t find qualified, talented people. Passionate people wanting to serve the republic. You have no reason to just stay in one little corner… it is wrong in any case.”

With the latest recruitment, KRA seeks to boost its current over 9000-member workforce.

The tax body admitted that there was political interference in the biased 2023 recruitment flagged by the High Court last year.