The Mt Kenya Times 
President William Ruto
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- In the tail-end of his presidency, Uhuru took this war to a new level. A number of top businesspeople and some proprietors of alcoholic making factories were arrested and arraigned in courts where they faced charges of tax evasion.
- Kenyatta’s political opponents would not take this lightly. He cannot win this war because he had weaponised it and the law is being applied selectively.
- He is only targeting the politicians supporting the candidature of then- Deputy President William Ruto.
- He thinks this strategy will help him to have his way. By then, Uhuru had started showing he preferred the Azimio leader to succeed him.
A few days ago, President William Ruto took his war against the wealthy families whom he had accused of not paying taxes a notch higher.
Without mentioning names, he said all Kenyans must tax.
Kenya is not animal farm where some are more equal than the others.
We know they are the ones sponsoring protest rallies led by Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition.
The aim is to intimidate and blackmail me. I will not succumb to their machinations.
My government has not introduced a new tax regime. The law is clear on how much they are supposed to pay and the legal measures to be taken against the defaulters.
For me, President Ruto is on the right course.
He is following the footsteps of his predecessors. I remember when former President Mwai Kibaki was at the helm of power, he kept reminding Kenyans that “Kulipa Ushuru Nikujitegemea”.
Besides, he never missed the events organized to cerebrate and reward Kenyans who were tax-compliant.
He always reiterated. Pay your taxes on time. Don’t wait to be pushed by KRA.
His predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta followed the same template.
In the tail-end of his presidency, Uhuru took this war to a new level. A number of top businesspeople and some proprietors of alcoholic making factories were arrested and arraigned in courts where they faced charges of tax evasion.
Kenyatta’s political opponents would not take this lightly. He cannot win this war because he had weaponised it and the law is being applied selectively.
He is only targeting the politicians supporting the candidature of then- Deputy President William Ruto.
He thinks this strategy will help him to have his way. By then, Uhuru had started showing he preferred the Azimio leader to succeed him.
It won’t take long before he comes out openly.
He invited Raila and other opposition top guns who initially appeared totally opposed to a Ruto Presidency to several meetings held at State House in Nairobi and Mombasa.
Uhuru always called on them to form a united front. I want us to agree on who will be the coalition’s flag-bearer.
These meetings would not bore the fruits as the leaders maintained their hardline stances.
Initial reports indicated that Uhuru was reluctant to support Raila. He instead preferred Mudavadi or Kalonzo to fly the Azimio ticket.
He later changed his mind in what many interpreted as caving in to pressure from Raila’s confidantes and diehard supporters.
In view of foregoing, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and his Ford Kenya counterpart Moses Wetangula had no option but to bolt out. They decamped to Ruto camp and played an instrumental role in DP’s election victory.
Back to tax matters, the Director of Public Prosecution Nordin Haji has withdrawn a number of tax evasion cases filed against those perceived to be associates of President William Ruto. The question is. Why would the DPP withdraw the cases he had filed? The law is clear. He is supposed to prefer the charges after perusing the evidence submitted, agreeing it is credible and meets the threshold.
The DPP has however been defending himself, stating. He was equally under pressure from high offices in the land to arraign these people before the court.
This happened before the investigations were completed. These are the cases I have withdrawn.
This is after the investigators hit a dead end in looking for the new evidence to sustain them.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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