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Citizen Weekly

Monday 20 October 2014

KRA IMPOSTERS WREAK HAVOC IN MOMBASA CONTAINER FREIGHT STATIONS



Three masqueraders have taken over Mombasa container freight stations where they run an extortion syndicate through the tacit support of top customs officers based at Times Towers, the Kenya Revenue Authority headquarters in Nairobi.
Sources within Kilindini customs say that the trio, a lady and two men who are reported to be the main masterminds behind the syndicate of an elaborate tax evasion scheme have even acquired KRA passwords through which they transact their illicit trade depriving the government the much needed revenue.
“We are surprised how outsiders have managed to squeeze themselves within the KRA system and are comfortably reporting to our offices daily and handling sensitive matters without anyone raising a finger. Every time investigators are sent from Nairobi, they are tipped to stay away for as long as the team is around and later resume their dirty transactions. These people are so powerful no one dares touch them for that will earn one an instant transfer,” said a KRA staffer on condition of anonymity.
Other KRA staffers say the imposters are the equivalent of the infamous Waiganjo of the police force service.
The racketeers are said to have grown extremely rich for the last four years they have been in operation and their lifestyle is unmatched by the senior KRA staffers. Among other goings-on, they are hired as conduits by unscrupulous businesspeople with intent to evade taxes. Assumed as insiders, they know which officer is on which password and are able to manipulate the process to get their way.
Sometimes, they are used by tax evaders to distribute cash in envelopes to various officers to lure them as contraband containers are smuggled from the container freight stations. The lady officer who sometimes dons a KRA skirt uniform to hoodwink her victims is said to be a Kamba who most of the time is based at Boss Freight CFS. She is a former casual employee at KRA. The other notorious operative also from the same locality is mostly based at Consolbase CFS but coordinates the clandestine activities in all KRA areas.

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