Kenya Revenue Authority and former president Moi family are embodied in a legal battle over USD50,000

Kenya Revenue Authority, (KRA) and former president Daniel arap Moi family are embodied in a legal battle over some unpaid land tax dues amounting to a few millions.

Moi’s first born daughter, Ms Jennifer Jemutai Kositany has sued the KRA, the Chief Registrar of Lands and the Attorney General for imposing a Sh5 million ($50,000) charge on her 4.42-acre land near Integrity Centre in Nairobi, a local business daily reported.

Through lawyer George Kithi, Ms Kositany claimed that she is the registered proprietor of the land worth about Sh300 million and has never had any tax arrears.

“It has come to her attention that the Chief Registrar of Lands registered a charge on June 15, 1998 for a sum of five million shillings under the direction of KRA through the office of Commissioner of Income Tax,” said Mr Kithi.

Moi’s daughter said she acquired sole ownership of the disputed land after she lost her husband, Stephen Cheruiyot Kositany, on January 24, 1994.

Also read: KRA WANTS TO SWITCH OFF LIGHTS FOR KENGEN OVER BILLIONS IN TAX ARREARS

The couple acquired the property through a conveyance made on September 7, 1981 between William Hugh Hindley and Olga Oliver Hindley on one part and the Kositanys on the other.

But the property still remains in the name of the deceased while she retains its ownership as per the doctrine of survivorship.

In the case documents, Ms Kositany claimed that she had no outstanding tax liability “at the material time of the charge” to warrant KRA to direct the Chief Registrar of lands to charge the property as security for the money due or owed to the taxman.

“The action of KRA and the Chief Lands Registrar in registering the burden against the property has occasioned and continues to occasion Ms Kositany damages as she is barred from exercising her right to the property as guaranteed in the constitution,” said Mr Kithi.

She argued that she had never been issued with a notice directing her to make any payments of tax or “an intent to subject her property as security for unpaid monies”.

Efforts to make the taxman cancel the charge against the disputed property have been in vain she said.

Ms Kositany wants the court to quash the move of imposing the accumulated tax charge on her undeveloped land and that the case be certified urgent and heard on a priority basis.