Nyaga wants Tatu City directors probed over Sh6.5b tax evasion

NAIROBI, KENYA: Tatu City Company chairman Nahashon Nyaga has told a parliamentary committee that former investors should be probed for allegedly swindling the taxman Sh6.5billion in unpaid taxes.

Directors of the company have been accused of failing to tell the taxman or give real value of land sold to a university as per documents provided to Parliament by a former director of the firm disclosed.

The company declared false figures to the taxman hence causing loss of revenue.

Appearing before the National Assembly lands committee chaired by Rachael Nyamai, Nyaga told the MPs that the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti should take up the matter and probe the firm majority shareholder Stephen Jennings.

The investigations according to Nyaga should be extended to Jennings and other directors of Kofinaf Company Limited over the unaccounted sum of Sh1.3 billion.

Also, he petitioned the committee to have Tatu City Limited scrutinised on the whereabouts of Sh5.1 billion.

The Nyamai led committee heard that another minority shareholder Stephen Mwagiru in his documents showed that the majority shareholders involved in tax evasion amounted to Sh 1.5 billion.

“The concealment of the whereabouts of these monies, not only denies me and other Kenyan shareholders our rightful dividends as shareholders, but also denies the government its rightful taxes, which would be a crime,” he said.

He continued, “On February 10th, 2017, we filed two complaints with the DCI about the extensive theft of company funds by Jennings and his group.”

He informed the MPs that the foreign directors should be stopped from selling off company land until and after a thorough probe on tax evasion is heard and determined.  

Nyaga was hard pressed by MPs to illustrate the steps he has taken to arrest the situation.

He responded to the concerns raised, indicating that he had filed a suit in the High Court against Jennings which he and the other minority shareholders have pleaded to.

In the middle of the deliberation, Luanda MP Chris Omulele was thrown out for failing to declare interest in the matter.

A letter tabled by Kago Lydia (Githunguri) established that he had failed to inform the committee that his wife was one of the lawyers working for Tatu City Company.