Economy

DPP Haji halts tax evasion case against CA chair Mary Wambui

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Billionaire Jubilee party campaign financier Mary Wambui Mungai. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Communications Authority of Kenya board chair Mary Wambui Mungai has secured a major relief in court after a magistrate allowed prosecutors to withdraw the Sh2.2 billion tax evasion case.

This comes a month after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) dropped another case facing Ms Mungai that involved the possession of firearms and ammunition illegally.

She joins the expanding list of government bigshots whose criminal cases have collapsed in the recent past.

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The twin trials stemmed from Ms Mungai’s run-ins with former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.

The DPP yesterday told the anti-corruption court that Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Ms Mungai and her daughter Purity Njoki had concluded negotiations that commenced last October.

The two had been charged as directors of Purma Holdings Limited with alleged failure to pay taxes amounting to Sh2,231,789,125.

They faced eight counts of unlawfully omitting income tax returns for their company between 2014-2019.

The alleged unpaid taxes emerged from the billions of shillings earned by the company from government tenders for supplying boots, uniforms and cereals to the military, among other State departments.

Ms Wambui was among Kenyans who funded the reelection campaign of Mr Kenyatta in 2017 through the Jubilee Party.

Appearing before chief magistrate Felix Kombo, the prosecution sought withdrawal of the criminal charges, saying the tax dispute had been settled out of court and the KRA did not wish to proceed with the trial.

Defence lawyers Nelson Havi and Adrian Kamotho did not oppose the withdrawal of the charges and told the court that the case had affected Ms Mungai and her daughter. They welcomed the DPP’s move.

“We agree with the decision of the DPP to have this matter withdrawn. This is a matter that should not have reached this stage of court prosecution. Our clients have endured anguish and difficulties, including denial of certain rights since they were arraigned,” said Mr Kamotho.

The move by the DPP to withdraw the charges was occasioned by an out-of-court deal between KRA and the accused persons over the alleged unpaid taxes.

In the gun case that was dropped by the prosecutors on December 5, 2022, Ms Wambui had been charged with two counts of being in possession of a firearm without a valid license and 22 rounds of ammunition without a valid firearm certificate. She denied the charges.

READ: Judge lifts accounts freeze on Jubilee financier in tax row

The prosecution alleged that the offence was committed between April 2020 and December 15, 2021. She was charged in January 2022 after her run-ins with the previous Kenyatta-led administration.

Ms Wambui joins the growing list of President William Ruto’s allies whose cases have been dropped by the DPP over various reasons such as insufficient evidence.

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