Confusion as DCI withdraws officers attached to taxman

All Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives attached to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) have been recalled to Mazingira House headquarters and the unit disbanded.

A police signal from the DCI headquarters dated February 2 and signed by Julius Muthama Kitili, the Director of Personnel said the government has decided to recall all the officers attached to KRA offices countrywide.

Consequently, all the detectives, who had been under the command of an officer in the rank of Commissioner of Police were ordered to report back to the DCI headquarters for redeployment and the unit disbanded.

The detectives attached to KRA have been used to collect and provide criminal intelligence as well as detect and prevent tax evasion; revenue leakages; manufacture, sale and importation of counterfeit and contraband goods.

Though there are fears that the move could impact the overall operations of KRA, particularly on crackdown on counterfeits, tax evasion, investigations into economic offences, it is not clear when the agency is scheduled to form a special unit to undertake the duties previously performed by the DCI detectives.

Lack of communication 

Efforts to get comment from KRA were futile as the communications department did not get back to us despite promising to do so.

Sources say the withdrawal of the detectives is attributed to remarks by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in September last year when he claimed that DCI officers had, in recent years, been abusing their positions and harassing persons holding elected seats, specifically governors, which he claims impedes the officials from carrying out their constitutional mandate.

Gachagua said the DCI does not have the powers to meddle in the affairs of state agencies, unless it is a matter of great public importance, as such the sleuths agency should refrain from laying sieges at county government offices when looking to reel in any alleged crooked officials.

“We have told DCI to go back to Kiambu Road and wait for crimes to be reported there. They have no business in government offices hovering all over and creating a toxic environment for service delivery,” he was quoted.

“We cannot have detectives in government offices because they poison the atmosphere for civil servants to deliver.”

The DP had correspondingly slammed the DCI for allegedly sending junior-ranked police officers to arrest high-ranking elected leaders, noting that this undermines the leaders’ powers and authority in the eyes of their subordinates.

Junior officers

“Let the head of that particular organisation write a letter to the governor himself and not delegate some junior officers to address a sitting governor because that is not right and those are the things we are going to do to restore the dignity of our leaders,” he said.

During the campaigns, President William Ruto repeatedly promised to introduce independence and integrity at KRA, DCI and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

“On our first day we will free the DCI, we will free the KRA from the state capture, they have weaponised DCI, KRA and the EACC to run political errands,” Ruto had told his supporters at on of his rallies.

He continued, “We will professionalize the DCI’s office for them to discharge their constitutional and legal duty.” The DCI detectives have previously been accused by the Kenya Kwanza brigade of allegedly harassing their members under the pretext of cracking down on tax evasion.