A Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officer was on Thursday arraigned before the Kisumu Chief Magistrate’s Court for allegedly soliciting and receiving a Sh500,000 bribe to manipulate a tax audit report for a private school.
Evans Agumba Oriato, a Customer Care Officer attached to the KRA Kisumu office, faced three counts of receiving a bribe contrary to Section 6(1) as read with Section 18(1) and (2) of the Bribery Act No. 47 of 2016.
He was charged with receiving the bribe from Teresia Akinyi Wasonga on December 31, 2021, to reconcile the audit report with regard to tax arrears owed by Jane Adeny Memorial School.
On the second count, Oriato was accused of agreeing to receive Sh250,000 from the same complainant on January 13, 2022, while on the third count, he allegedly received the said amount on the same date within Kisumu Town.
The accused, who was arrested following investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) denied all three counts.
Chief Magistrate Benson Ireri, who presided over the case, released Oriato on a bond of Sh500,000 with one surety of a similar amount. The magistrate directed that he remains in custody until he meets the bond terms.
The prosecution told the court that the investigations were complete and that all witnesses, including the complainant, were ready to testify when the hearing commences.
The case has been scheduled for pre-trial on November 24, 2025.
