Members of the Kikuyu community hold a firm grip on the country’s tax collections, holding almost half of the senior executive positions at KRA.
The authority’s own documents tabled before a Parliamentary committee indicate skewed hiring, in which senior-level management — where key decisions on the country’s revenue measures are made — is slowly turning into a Kikuyu affair.
Out of the 133 senior management positions, 50 are held by members of the Kikuyu community, translating to 37.59 per cent of that workforce. This hiring leaves the remaining 83 slots to be shared among the remaining 41 Kenyan tribes.
Of the 83 slots, Luhyas are 19, Luos 16, Kamba 13, Kisii 9, Kalenjin 8, Meru 4, Embu 2, with Tharaka, Samburu, Maasai, Burji among others having one member each.
Section 7 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act states: “No public establishment shall have more than one-third of its staff from the same ethnic community.”
Section 65 of the County Government Act list says issues to consider during appointment include “the need to ensure that at least 30 per cent of the vacant posts at entry level are filled by candidates who are not from the dominant ethnic community in the county.
The KRA quietly tabled the hiring documents in June before the National Assembly's National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity Committee chaired by nominated MP Maina Kamanda. The Star has obtained copies.
Since 2001, members of the Kikuyu community have maintained uninterrupted leadership at the lucrative Kenya Revenue Authority, elbowing aside other tribes who are yet to helm the revenue collecting agency.
KRA became autonomous in 1995. Since then, the majority of those who have held the top position hail from or have roots in the Central region.
A look at the journey of the taxman shows skewed leadership that has favoured one community.
According to documents, the authority currently has a total workforce of 6,924.
Out of these, 1,961 are from the Kikuyu community, followed by Luos at 874 and Luhyas at 837.
The same trend is replicated in the middle-level management where out of the 3,967 staff, Kikuyus still dominate with 1,178 members followed at a distance by members from the Luhya community at 503, surpassing Luo community by just five members.
The Kamanda-led committee had summoned the state agency to provide information on its employees with regard to, among other issues, the ethnic composition of the entire workforce.
Since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, records show that the KRA has hired 3,967 staff at various levels. Out of these, 1,026 were from the Kikuyu community, the rest were shared among the remaining tribes.
In the new recruitment, only Kalenjins came close to Kikuyus with 520 staff joining the state agency. Luos were third with 508 followed by the Luhya community with 435.
In trying to justify the hiring pattern, KRA said it is facing challenges in ensuring 100 per cent reach in vacancy advertisements.
“The authority is partnering with the county governments and other government agencies to ensure our personnel in field offices put emphasis on local diversity,” the KRA said.
Edited by R.Wamochie
