Tatu City shackled by KRA tax probe

A sign board and a section of Tatu City taken on 11th August 2015. [WILBERFORCE OKWIRI]

The future of Tatu city lies in limbo after Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) stopped the sale of all land belonging to Tatu City as it seeks to probe claims of under-declaring their tax returns that could run into billions.

While appearing before the National Assembly Lands Committee Commissioner General John Njiraini his agency had banned officials of the firm behind the project from disposing of thousands of acres of land until an ongoing investigation on claims of tax evasion is concluded.

At the heart of the caveat is the under-declaring their tax returns by Kofinaf Company  and Tatu City the two companies might have been under-declaring their tax returns to a tune os sh317m according to Njiraini.

“Following our investigations in 2015, we found that Tatu city had under-declared its returns by Sh42.4 million  while Kofinaf Company also involved in the project had was caught up in in Sh275 million under declaration of returns by Sh275 million,” said KRA Commissioner General .

The Lands committee is probing claims through a petition from shareholders who have fingered directors of Tatu City and its sister company, Kofinaf, of failing to pay tax amounting to over Sh6.5 billion.

While appearing in the same committee two months ago, minority shareholder Stephen Mwagiru and Tatu City chairman Nahashon Nyagah who alleged in the documents they tabled to the Kitui South MP Rachael Nyamai committee accused the foreign directors possible repatriation of more than Sh6.5 billion.

On Thursday Stephen Armstrong Jennings one of the foreign partners failed to appear before the committee to shed light in to the tax evasion allegations that have rocked the company.

Mr Jennings communicated to the committee that he was away on a trip and could be able to attend to the committee invitation at a later date.

The circus in the Tatu city has seen a back and forth accusations with the local investors having trained their accusations against their foreign partners.

During their appearance in the committee in August, Tatu City chair and Bidco Oil chairman Vamal Shaha shareholder presented to the House committee letters they had wrote the Director of Criminal Investigations in February last year requesting him to look into a possible the theft of  Sh5.15 billion cash at Tatu City and Kofinaf.

They accused foreign investors Jennings, Frank Mosier, Frances Holiday, Andrew Rowell, Hans Jochum Horn, Christopher John Barron, and Pius Ngugi, for the billions in their transactions.