William Ruto Names Humphery Mulongo As KRA Commissioner General

• National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u said Humphery Mulongo would serve for three years as Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner General
• Mulongo takes over from the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes, Rispah Simiyu, who has been acting Commissioner General since the exit of Githii Mburu
• KRA board chairman Anthony Mwaura said Mulongo emerged as the best candidate from the 13 shortlisted applicants

Nairobi - President William Ruto has appointed Humphrey Wattanga Mulongo as the new Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority.

In a gazette notice dated Tuesday, August 22, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung'u said Mulongo will serve for a period of three years, effective August 22, 2023.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 11 (1) of the Kenya Revenue Authority Act, 1995, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning appoints— Humphrey Wattanga Mulongo to be the Commissioner General of Kenya Revenue Authority, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 22nd August, 2023,” read the notice.

Mulongo takes over from Commissioner of Domestic Taxes Rispah Simiyu, who acted following the exit of Githii Mburu in February.

How many people applied for KRA Job

The new KRA boss previously worked as a Commission of Revenue Allocation (CRA) member for six years following his appointment by former president Uhuru Kenyatta.

Mulongo's appointment follows the completion of a competitive recruitment process by the KRA Board of Directors.

In a press statement, KRA board chairman Anthony Mwaura said Mulongo emerged as the best candidate from the 13 shortlisted applicants out of the 89.

Mwaura said Mulongo will provide strategic leadership in reforming the tax agency in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.

"He is expected to provide strategic leadership and institutionalise reforms towards customer centricity, digitization, and domestic revenue mobilisation in line with the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, that requires critical dimension of supporting markets to develop and prosper," Mwaura said.

Kikuyu, Luhya dominate KRA's workforce

In other news, the Kenya Revenue Authority revealed the largest share of jobs at the agency was handed to two ethnic communities.

Then KRA acting commissioner-general Rispah disclosed 788 out of 1406 revenue service assistants recruited in June were handed to the Kalenjin and Kikuyu communities.

From the 788 positions, Kalenjins took 403 slots, while the Kikuyus hired were 385. President William Ruto is a Kalenjin, while his deputy Rigathi Gachagua is a Kikuyu.

According to Daily Nation, the rest 43% of the jobs were taken by other tribes, including Luhya (134), Luo (76), Kenyan Somali (71), Kamba (64), and Meru (55).

"I agree this is a sensitive issue. There could have been political interests and pressure. But there were certain ways of ensuring moderation in the recruitment process. Some communities were deliberately recruited," Simiyu disclosed.