No Way! Appellate Court Dismisses Order Forcing KRA to Issue Ojienda with a Tax Clearance Certificate

Tom Ojienda; a name that represents one of the most prominent lawyers in the law fraternity of Kenya.

As you would expect, an individual with such a coveted status in the courts would always have his way, yes?

Well, that’s not the CASE, pun intended.

Initially, Ojienda had filed a petition against the LSK and KRA regarding his denial by the LSK to be vetted for the position of the JSC, as well as the KRA’s refusal to issue him with a Tax Compliant Certificate.

Interestingly, the defendant, Ojienda, is reported to have over 400 million in tax arrears!

Hardlined Appellate Court

This could turn out to be the influential lawyer’s greatest defeat after the Court of Appeal suspended orders requesting the Kenya Revenue Authority to issue Ojienda with a TCC.

As you know, it’s mandatory for a JSC nominee to have a Tax Compliant Certificate before being vetted by the LSK.

The ruling was delivered by judges S. ole Kantai, A.K. Murgor, and M.K. Koome on Wednesday, February 6th.

Indeed, both the High Court, as well as the KRA came into agreement that issuing Ojienda with a TCC before determining whether he is tax compliant would be going against the clearly spelt out rules and regulations stipulated in the Constitution and the Tax Procedures Act.

via GIPHY

And it gets worse for Ojienda…

Besides his aspirations to garner the top judicial seat becoming virtually impossible, the controversial city lawyer is also facing a myriad of graft charges tied to the Mumias Sugar saga that resulted in the disappearance of over Ksh 200 million.

Mumias Scandal

It’s alleged that Ojienda filed fake cases in a number of courts located in different parts of Kakamega county.

Additionally, it is believed he received lump payments totalling Ksh 89 million that were tied to the sugar company.

In a statement to the press at the DCI headquarters, Ojienda’s representative (Nelson Havi) said that the detention of the senior counsel was a power play orchestrated by the Executive to flaunt their authority and intimidate professional lawyers in the country.

 

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