NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 9 — House Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa has told off retired President Uhuru Kenyatta over attempts to drag his mother, former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta, into personal accountability matters.
He challenged the former Head of State to defend himself against any claims of tax evasion without involving his “elderly mother”.
Speaking to news reporters on Thursday, Ichung’wa said Mama Ngina should be left alone and those responsible for tax evasion be held accountable.
“Those asking their mothers to defend them should stop disturbing our elderly people in the society,” the House Majority Leader said in an apparent jibe at Kenyatta.
“The elderly people are not able to work and pay tax. If you misused your powers to evade paying taxes you should be ready to clear your mess. Pay your taxes just like any other Kenyan,” he said.
The Kikuyu legislator who maintained that every Kenyan should pay tax asked the former Head of State to face the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and clear any arrears if any.
“Stop running to your parent. Run to KRA with a cheque book and pay the tax,” he said.
Mama Ngina’s outburst
Ichung’wa’s response came days after Mama Ngina Kenyatta broke silence over the tax evasion debate putting the Kenyatta business empire on the spotlight.
In an apparent response to allegations by President William Ruto’s allies that businesses owned by the Kenyatta family had evaded taxes, the spouse of the country’s founding leader Mzee Jomo Kenyatta said the claims were baseless.
“There are procedures on matters taxes, and one cannot avoid paying taxes because it is against the country’s law,” she said during the handover of a church in Malindi whose construction she aided.
“If all these reports are true then they should reclaim the money form the businesses,” she added.
In remarks delivered in Kiswahili, Mama Ngina appeared to suggest Ruto’s campaign to tame tax evasion was politically motivated.
“Why do they get excited when they mention other people’s names?” she posed.
The remarks by Mama Ngina who has often kept away from the public limelight apart from her brief engagement at the beginning of her son’s presidential campaign in 2013 and in support of Raila Odinga’s 2022 bid caught many by surprise
