KPA Scandal: 89 fake disability to dodge retirement and tax

Over 80 employees who have been enjoying tax exemptions due to their disability claims will now be investigated.

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) employees lost a case in which they had sought orders stopping their employer from investigating them. The workers have been enjoying many benefits including retiring at 65 years

According to preliminary investigations by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), many employees at the port and at Mumias Sugar Company could be falsely enjoying disability tax exemptions.

After the investigations, 86 employees rushed to the High Court to try and stop investigations by their employer.

KRA submitted in court that 52 employees at the sugar firm and over 100 at KPA are in possession of tax exemption certificates. The tax man added that registration by the National Council for Persons with Disabilities is not an automatic tool for tax exemption.

KRA warns that tax exemption status is a privilege “only to deserving cases and the threshold is higher than that required for registration”.

It goes further to advise that those who seek exemption must “demonstrate how their impairment limits day to day activities”.

KPA launched investigations after being alerted by KRA which was alarmed by the sudden and unexplained rise in port employees on disability relief.

TAX EXEMPTIONS

The probe raised queries on 98 employees and ordered them to undergo medical inspection by a KPA medical task force, which established that the disabilities for which the workers had been receiving exemptions and reliefs were false or undeserved.

Before KPA could take action, 86 of them rushed to the High Court to try and stop the investigation and possible prosecution. Yesterday, they lost an application seeking to stop the investigation.

According to a report filed in KPA’s response to the petitioners, 10 employees declined to meet the medical task force.

High Court judge Mathew Emukule declared that KPA was within its right to investigate its employees to establish any information on them when the need arises.

“If you are working for the Government, you must accept to be examined by the employer when they want to establish issues surrounding your life. As such, if your disability affects your daily performance in your work, you must be ready to go to the Director of Medical Services to determine your disability,” said Justice Emukule as he dismissed the petition by Stephen Kariuki, Erastus Muthuri M’Inoti, Eric Ngeno, Japheth Mutwiri, Charles Kamau and Zablon Shikuku who filed the petition on behalf of 89 affected employees.

The judge dismissed the petitioners’ argument that KPA violated their rights by subjecting them to medical procedures. He said he could not block KRA from investigating any claims of possible evasion of tax.