Change of guard at Times Tower as Mburu takes over from Njiraini

Change of guard at Times Tower as Mburu takes over from Njiraini.

There is a new occupant of the corner office at Times Towers.

James Mburu was yesterday named the new Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General, ending months of intrigues that characterised the last days of his predecessor, John Njiraini.

He beat four other candidates in the race to replace Njiraini who exits Times Tower after seven years at the helm.

KRA had enlisted the services of Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) as the recruitment consultants for the application exercise that closed on May 29, with Mburu, Julius Mwatu, Richard Ndung’u, Duncan Ondoru, and Andrew Okello making the final shortlist of the initial 30 applicants.

The board chaired by the former head of civil service Francis Muthaura concluded its interviews and forwarded the names to Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich who then formally appointed Mburu yesterday.

The new taxman takes office on July 1 on a three-year term, becoming one of the youngest office holders at only 47.

Mburu has over 21 years of experience in the areas of tax administration, finance, policy and strategy development.

He has worked at the KRA for 12 years where he has headed tax audit policy, audit of large taxpayers and investigation functions.

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA-K), he joined KRA in 2007 where he served as the head audit policy for a year before being elevated to the position of head of audit - large taxpayers in March 2008.

In March 2013, he was elected deputy commissioner and appointed the head of tax investigation, a position he held until April 2017 when he was named as commissioner in the newly created Department of Intelligence and Strategic Operations.

In the new position, he has been responsible for promoting ethical conduct at KRA and in combating tax evasion through intelligence collection and management, with his office said to have been instrumental in the recent nabbing of over 100 officers suspected of aiding tax evasion.

He is an Alumnus of Kenyatta University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting (1997) and also a Master of Science (MSc) in Public Policy & Analysis from Jomo Kenyatta University (Jkuat).

Mburu was seen as a front runner for the job, being an insider and his meteoric rise to the position of commissioner.

Last week, activist Okiya Omtatah failed to get orders from the High Court to stop the interview of Mr Mburu on grounds that he was being favoured.

Instead, the court directed that he serve KRA with his papers and return to court on Thursday next week for a mention.

Mburu is expected to steer KRA in the implantation of the 7th Corporate Plan of 2018/19 to 2020/21, with the taxman perennially failing to achieve its tax collection targets.

He will also be expected to address suspicions and fears among staff at KRA following the recent crackdown, which he spearheaded, with some claiming that it targeted juniors while the big fish walk scot-free.