KRA commissioner Safari sent home over abuse of office
KRA Customs and Border Control Commissioner Kevin Safari who has been sent on compulsory leave over alleged abuse of office. He has been replaced with Mrs Pamela Ahago in acting capacity. PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- KRA has appointed Mrs Pamela Ahago as the acting commissioner for Customs and Border Control.
- In July 2019, Mrs Ahago was promoted to the rank of deputy commissioner.
- Mr Safari who was charged alongside former KPA managing director Daniel Manduku with abuse of office a month ago.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has appointed Mrs Pamela Ahago as the acting commissioner for Customs and Border Control (C&BC) to replace Mr Kevin Safari who has been sent on compulsory leave over alleged abuse of office.
KRA Commissioner General Githii Mburu appointed Mrs Ahago, who has been serving as deputy commissioner for policy and international affairs from July 2019, in acting capacity for the next three months.
Mrs Ahago joined KRA in July 1996 as collector 1 in then Customs and Excise Department and undertook various tasks until July 2002 when she was promoted to the rank of an assistant commissioner.
WORK EXPERIENCE
She worked in different divisions as a senior assistant commissioner and in July 2015, she was appointed as the acting chief manager and was promoted to the same position two years later and worked in Trade Facilitation.
In July 2019, Mrs Ahago was promoted to the rank of deputy commissioner.
"Mrs Ahago is a trained negotiator with experience in regional and international negotiations. She has represented KRA in regional and international negotiations on trade and some of the trade agreements she has negotiated include Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)," said Mr Mburu.
Mrs Ahago has worked with the World Customs Organisations as head of Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Eastern and Southern Africa and as an expert of rules of origin. She has participated in the formulation of both the East Africa Community and the Common Market for East and Southern Region.
CHARGED
She will replace Mr Safari who was charged alongside former Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) managing director Daniel Manduku with abuse of office a month ago.
In March this year, they were released after Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji declined to approve the charges against them.
The two were arrested but when they were presented before Senior Principal Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot, there was no prosecutor in court. Only lawyers and an officer from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations were present.
The court had to adjourn the case to awaiting the prosecutor and the file to be brought from the DPP's office.
