Former Keroche CEO, Tabitha Karanja faces arrest in Sh14bn tax case
Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja addressing the media in response to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) press release detailing the dispute between the brewer and the authority at her Nairobi office on March 9, 2022. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG
A Nairobi court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja over the failure to attend proceedings for the hearing of her Sh14 billion tax evasion case.
Senior Principal Magistrate Esther Kimilu said the case was listed for hearing but Ms Karanja, the former Keroche boss, failed to turn up.
“The accused person knew that the matter was listed for hearing today (Wednesday) and failed to show up. I hereby discharge the two witnesses before court today and proceed to issue a warrant of arrest against the accused person,” Mrs Kimilu ordered.
Ms Karanja, however, said she became aware of the warrant for her arrest through media reports.
“Both ourselves and KRA have no information to the contrary. It is critical that these important ADR processes are not undermined by lack of coordination and communication by the various authorities charged with managing this matter,” said Ms Karanja.
Ms Karanja added that an amicable and expedited resolution of the matter is of critical importance to all parties and the need to restore much-needed predictability in the business environment.
When she denied the Sh14 billion tax evasion charges in April, the court granted the Nakuru Senator 45 days to resolve the matter out of court with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
On Wednesday, State prosecutor Ann Munyua informed the court that the case was listed for hearing and that she had come with two witnesses ready to testify.
The prosecutor applied to discharge the witnesses and urged the court to issue the warrant for the arrest against Ms Karanja.
Ms Karanja was charged with 10 counts related to tax fraud after the prosecution amended the initial charges and struck out the name of her husband, Joseph Karanja from the case.
She was also accused of making incorrect statements for January 2017 to December 2017 which affected their payable excise duty by Sh3.6 billion.
