Kenya Revenue Authority has dismissed 19 staff in its second quarter of financial year 2024/2025 (October-December) as part of concerted efforts to weed out corruption from the tax body.
These statistics were revealed in a comprehensive report detailing several measures the body had taken to mitigate graft and enhance integrity at the authority.
The 19 dismissals marked a significant increase from the nine dismissals recorded during the same period in the 2023/2024 financial year.
According to KRA, "This reflects the Authority’s firm stance on addressing integrity-related issues. Additionally, staff warnings saw a sharp decline, from 15 cases in Q2 of FY 2023/2024 to just 2, signalling a shift away from milder corrective actions."
The authority also experienced a drop in staff warnings, which reduced drastically from 15 cases in Q2 of FY 2023/2024 to two. The number of staff cleared of allegations also dropped to eight cases, compared to 23 in the previous financial year.
At the same time, stern warnings rose to 7 cases, up from two, with KRA saying the rise exhibited the authority's "zero-tolerance policy towards corruption". Some of the warnings ranged from misconduct cases including dishonesty, fraud, negligence of duty, absenteeism, conflict of interest and impersonation.
According to the authority, the renewed focus on integrity has been bolstered by robust measures designed to enhance accountability and restore public confidence.
Part of the reason professionalism has been enhanced at the authority is due to the tendency to leverage on technologies such as the iWhistle - a web-based platform that allows the public to report corruption and tax evasion anonymously.
Thanks to the technology, KRA announced tax estimates amounted to KSh 4.39 billion in the 2024/2025 financial year after the authority received 246 corruption reports.
Incentivising whistleblowing by offering 5% of the recovered tax also appears to have helped KRA's cause, with KRA Commissioner General, Mr. Humphrey Wattanga admitting the recent collaboration with the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission was a strategic one.
"We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to those who abuse our systems," he said, adding, "We will establish a robust framework that not only deters tax evasion but also imposes strict penalties on those who facilitate such evasion, ensuring accountability for their actions."
In addition, KRA's implementation of lifestyle audits to identify illicit wealth among staff also appears to have boosted integrity within the authority. In six lifestyle audits which have been conducted 117 staff members underwent vetting.
