NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 16 – The number of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) employees dismissed on corruption rose by 257.1 percent to 25 in quarter one (Q1) of the 2024/2025 fiscal year (FY) as the agency’s purge on graft continues.
In a similar period of 2023/2024, FY, the taxman sent home only seven workers.
The fired were among 84 workers sanctioned for various misconducts between July and September 2024.
However, the number of Termination of Services cases dropped from eight to three in the review period.
In its anti-corruption campaigns, KRA has implemented a series of measures to uphold integrity, ensure accountability, and enhance public confidence in the tax administration system.
One of them is through the introduction of iWhistle, a web-based platform that allows the public to anonymously report corruption and tax evasion activities.
As a result, the platform has helped KRA recover Sh4.22 billion from corruption in just the 2023/2024 FY.
Similarly, the taxman also conducts lifestyle audits on the workforce, which have proven to be effective in identifying illicit wealth. In the 2023/2024 FY, 41 KRA employees were subjected to lifestyle audits, leading to the recovery of Sh549 million.
Other key anti-corruption measures include profiling of tax evaders and the adoption of a whole government approach, which promotes collaboration across public institutions to enhance compliance and curb tax evasion.
The agency has likewise established Corruption Prevention Committees (CPCs) to help prevent corruption within operational areas.
The CPCs take appropriate administrative actions against any reported malpractices, report on emerging risks, and meet quarterly to evaluate implementation of the Public Service Integrity Program (PSIP) activities.
