KRA board offers Commissioner-General Njiraini one-year contract extension

KRA Commissioner General John Njiraini addresses a press conference at Times Towers. [Photo: Boniface Okendo]

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) board has offered Commissioner-General John Njiraini a one-year extension of contract.

Highly placed sources in Government told The Standard that the board made the decision last month, following a directive from the Presidency, although it is not clear if the Mr Njiraini has accepted the offer.

“As you know, his term comes to an end on March 3 (this Saturday) and the board has already prepared instruments of his contract. The only thing left is to make it public,” a senior official at KRA told The Standard.

Succession battle

Njiraini has been at the centre of a succession battle, with all indications that he intends to stay put.

“I am not sure about the period extended but he has been retained with an extension on his contract,” a Treasury source said.

The decision not to make public the extension was informed by a case pending in court in which activist Okiya Omtatah seeks to kick out Njiraini who has already attained the mandatory retirement age of 60 years.

Industrial Court Judge Nelson Abuodha is expected to give his verdict on Friday.

Omtatah had asked the court to compel the KRA board and Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich to appoint an acting commissioner-general while sending Njiraini who turned 60 on December 20, 2017 on terminal leave.

Justice Abuodha declined to grant the interim orders and instead said he will issue the final verdict in the main case, adding that he had powers to order KRA to recover any money paid to Njiraini should he find that he stayed in office irregularly.

Last week, however, Omtatah was allowed to amend his case where he is now asking the court to determine if KRA should be allowed to extend Njiraini’s term given that the Government policy dubbed Mwongozo bars such a move.

Mwongozo expressly provides for the tenure of chief executive officers to be three-year terms or as otherwise provided under any other written law and renewable only once subject to performance evaluated by the board.

Omtatah wants the court to make a declaration that Njiraini is ineligible for appointment to serve a third term upon the expiry of his current contract.