Stop looking for tax cheats elsewhere, they’re right in your government – Raila tells Ruto

Azimio La Umoja leader Raila Odinga. | FILE
Azimio
La Umoja leader Raila Odinga on Sunday criticised President William Ruto over
his crackdown on tax evaders.
Ruto,
who maintains that the tax evasion debate is not politically motivated, has recently
accused powerful figures in previous governments of exempting themselves from
paying taxes.
The push has been perceived as President Ruto’s
vengeance on his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta who, together with Kenya’s second president,
the late Daniel Moi, is exempted from paying tax under the Estate Duty Act.
According
to Odinga, however, Ruo should first weed out tax evaders and “criminals” who
he says have populated the government.
“Tax
cheats and all sorts of criminals are with Ruto in his government but he is
pretending to be looking for criminals outside his government,” the opposition
leader told supporters at the Kamukunji Grounds in Nairobi.
In a passionate speech titled ‘The Kibra declaration’, Odinga accused the head of state of double standards in the fight against tax evasion and corruption, citing the recent multi-billion-shilling corruption charges involving President Ruto’s allies which have in recent days been dropped.
Just last week, some Ksh.202 million belonging to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, which was forfeited to the state after the High Court determined he could not prove how he obtained the money, was handed back to him.
The Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) on Wednesday said that after gathering new evidence, they found out that the money was not proceeds of crime and that the deputy president has explained the source and legitimacy of the said money to satisfaction.
“We
have a situation where if a poor man steals, he goes to jail but if a rich man
steals, he becomes a minister or a CEO,” said Odinga.
“The
law exempting presidents from tax was passed by Parliament in 1982, but it
appears Ruto and Gachagua do not know that,” he
added.
He
told the president and his deputy to leave tax matters to the Kenya Revenue
Authority and stop “speaking ill” of former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta,
describing her as a dignified figure.
Ruto’s
administration, which he campaigned for on the premise of fighting for the ordinary
Kenyans dubbed ‘Hustlers’, has instead turned out to be a billionaires’
government “that has no room for the poor,” Odinga said.
He
downplayed Ruto’s intensive tax collection campaign as “pick-pocketing the poor
to feed the rich friends.”
'Ruto must go'
At
the same time, Odinga repeated his claim that Ruto’s August 2022 election win
was not genuine and rallied supporters to oppose the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“We still maintain that Ruto got into State
House by hijacking and subverting the will of the people. He must get out!” he
said.
Odinga
said Ruo has gone ahead to govern with what he called contempt for Kenyans and
institutions, “as if “hijacking and subverting the will of the people is not
bad enough”.
He
announced that his nationwide rallies to mobilise Kenyans to reject President Ruto’s
government continue next week.
Odinga
said the Azimio coalition will tour Machakos on Friday, before heading to Busia
on Sunday.
Mama Ngina, NCBA Bank speak
Mama
Ngina Kenyatta on Saturday broke her silence on the tax evasion allegations levelled
against her family, dismissing them as pointless politicisation of tax matters.
Accusing politicians of peddling lies so that
they can be seen to be working, the 89-year-old matriarch said tax matters can
be addressed through government channels and, if need be, law courts, adding
that public rallies have no place in matters taxation.
She dared the government to auction her property and
belongings in order to settle any perceived debt if it is indeed true that she
has not been paying her taxes.
Meanwhile NCBA Bank, which the
Kenyatta family has a 53 per cent stake in, admitted to benefiting from a Ksh.350
million tax waiver during the merger between NIC Group PLC and Commercial Bank
of Africa (CBA) back in 2019.
NCBA Managing Director John Gachora on Thursday said should the court find NCBA to have contravened any tax-related law, following the waiver which has been a subject of public debate, they will pay without hesitation.
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