The renewed debate over alleged non-payment of tax by the estates of the late former Presidents Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi is likely to intensify following a move by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei to have section 7(3) of the Estate Duty Act amended.

In a letter dated February 1, 2023, addressed to the Clerk of the Senate, Senator Cherargei is proposing to have Section 7 sub-section (3) of the Estate Duty Act which apparently exempts the two former First Families from paying taxes deleted.

"The constitution under Article 210 on the imposition of taxation indicates that no person or entity shall be exempted from payment of tax. The constitution provides a prescriptive exemption of taxes not to include state officers as was purported in the Estate Duty Act section 7 (3) that exempted the estates of former presidents Kenyatta and Moi," Cherargei states in the letter.

He adds: "This is illegal relic and unconstitutional since the said individuals were state officers by the virtue of the offices they hold as the presidents of the Republic of Kenya."

In his proposed amendment, the Nandi Senator argues that persons living with disabilities, the minority and marginalised should be the ones being exempted from payment of tax by the said law and not the Kenyatta and Moi families.

Cherargei wants Section 7 sub-section (3) of the Estate Duty Act be deleted and the words "This section shall not apply to H.E Mzee Jorno Kenyatta or to H.E Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi" be replaced by inserting the following words: " that this section shall not apply to the disabled, minorities and marginalized as provided by the relevant law." 

"The constitution 2010 is aimed at creating equality & equity on the payment of taxes in Kenya. This proposed amendment of Section 7(3) of the Estate Duty Act shall cure this unconstitutional illegal legislation and allow Kenyans to be treated equally before the law," states Cherargei.

At the same time, Nyandarua Senator John Methu has written to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) seeking a tax audit of businesses owned by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family.

In a letter on behalf of the Peoples’ Representatives from the Counties of Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyanga and Kiambu, Methu argues that the Kenyatta family businesses have subverted the constitutional social goals by denying the public revenue by nonpayment of taxes to the Authority.

“...no individual or company should subvert the societal goals and deny the public, the revenue required to meet different obligations to their realize the socio-economic rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” the letter reads in part.

He lists the 2019 merger of the Commercial Bank Africa Limited (CBA) and NIC Group (NIC), the former being owned by the Kenyatta family, as well as Brookside Dairy Limited, ENKE Investments Ltd and the buying of the 5G- specific spectrum license.