•Keroche's Chief Financial Officer Potas Anaya was named the new CEO.
Image: FILE
Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja has stepped down as Keroche Breweries CEO.
Addressing the press on Tuesday, Tabitha said she wanted to serve the Nakuru residents who elected her.
"I am now ready to wholeheartedly dedicate myself to the honor of serving as the Senator of Nakuru County and as the Deputy Leader of the Majority in the Senate, representing our remarkable nation," she said.
Keroche's Chief Financial Officer Potas Anaya was named the new CEO.
Tabitha said having navigated the journey as the captain for 25 years, the time has come for her to step down.
"With immense pride, I hereby announce my decision to step down as the CEO of Keroche Breweries, entrusting the leadership to a deserving successor," she said.
She expressed her deepest gratitude to everyone who has walked with her for the past 25 years.
"I also believe I leave an organisation well- positioned to meet the opportunities and challenges of being a national and international leader in the Kenyan and African beverages industry,"she said.
Tabitha broke the norm and ensured that Keroche Breweries became Kenya’s first home-grown beer and alcoholic drink manufacturer.
As the founder of the Breweries, she was honoured in 2010 by the then President Mwai Kibaki with the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (M.B.S.) Award.
But even with these achievements, her company - Keroche- has been embroiled in tax disputes with Kenya Revenue Authority.
In April 2023, Tabitha was charged over Sh14.5 billion tax returns.
The Nakuru senator appeared before Milimani senior principal magistrate Esther Kimilu and denied 10 counts of tax evasion.
This is after the prosecution requested to amend the charges, saying some particulars were missing in the 2019 charge sheet.
According to the charge sheet, the accused and the company on dates between February 20, 2015, and January 20, 2016, unlawfully made incorrect statements in their excise duty returns by reducing their duty by Sh1.8 billion.
She also made incorrect statements for the January to December 2017 returns, which affected payable excise duty by Sh3.6 billion.
The case will be heard on July 26.