A security guard attached to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) in Eldoret has been charged with breaking into a KRA warehouse. He is accused of stealing 1,860,520 sticks of uncustomed Supermatch cigarettes, KRA said in a statement. The guard has not been named.
According to KRA, the cigarettes are valued at KSh 22,780,542. They had been seized earlier and stored in the warehouse. The guard also faces an alternative count of negligence to prevent a felony.
Immigration officers arrested him at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) as he tried to travel to Qatar. KRA said the arrest followed a Departure Prohibition Order that barred him from leaving Kenya.
He appeared before Eldoret Senior Principal Magistrate Maureen Kesse and denied the charges. The prosecution opposed his release, saying he was a flight risk. The court denied him bond. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.
In a separate case, KRA said a suspect was charged at Kabarnet Law Courts over illegal ethanol. She is accused of possessing 262.5 litres of undiluted and eight litres of diluted undenatured ethanol. The ethanol carries a tax implication of KSh 362,223. She was charged jointly with another person who was not in court.
The charges include possessing restricted goods under the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004. She is also charged with handling excisable goods without a licence under the Excise Duty Act. She appeared before Purity Koskey on October 28 and denied the charges. She was released on a KSh 30,000 bond or KSh 20,000 cash bail.
That case will be heard on December 16. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison, a fine of half the goods' dutiable value, or both. A further count carries a fine of up to KSh 2 million or two years in jail. KRA urged the public to report tax evasion and said informants' identities would be kept anonymous.