The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has appointed Rispah Simiyu as the Acting Commissioner General effective Thursday, February 23.
She previously served as KRA’s Commissioner for Domestic Taxes.
Prior to that, Simuyu served as the KRA Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Tax Dispute Resolution.
Domestic Taxes Department accounts for 65% of KRA revenue collections and therefore, Simiyu is tasked with the role of delivering on this mandate.
While working as the Deputy Commissioner, she grew the dispute resolution profile over the years from settlement of 90 disputes to 284 disputes from 2018 to 2020.
Simiyu is a seasoned and grounded tax professional with over 19 years of experience.
Before joining KRA in April 2018, Simiyu served as the Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited, Regional Tax Manager East Africa, with her role covering assignments in the wider Africa and Middle East Regions.
While at the Bank, she also served as a member of the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) Finance and Audit Committee.
As the Chairperson of the Tax Sub-Committee whose responsibilities included training management and staff of KBA members on existing and emerging tax issues.
She began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2001 rising to the position of Tax Manager.
She is a qualified Chartered Accountant, a Fellow Chartered and Certified Accountant (FCCA), an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a member of the Law Society of Kenya and a Certified Public Secretary.
She holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi with a focus on International Trade and Investment.
She also holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Dar es Salaam and a post-graduate Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law.
Rispah has practised and consulted on tax matters in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and is thus well versed with the tax laws of these countries.
Githii Mburu exit
Githii Mburu has resigned after a three-year and seven months stint at the seat on the 30th floor of Nairobi’s Times Tower.
Recently appointed KRA board chairman Anthony Mwaura made the announcement Thursday, including an executive shakeup.
“The board has today received the resignation letter of the Commissioner General Githii Mburu who resigned to pursue personal interests,” Mr Mwaura said.
In his place, the board named Simiyu, to serve in an interim role “until the position is substantively and competitively filled.”
Mburu was a long-time insider at the KRA’s audit and intelligence units before he was appointed commissioner general in July 2019 to replace John Njiraini.
The no-nonsense tax chief, whose tenure was characterised by an intensified campaign against individuals and firms for non-tax compliance, has over two decades of experience in tax administration, finance, policy, strategy, development and implementation.
The leadership change at the tax agency comes barely three months after the board chair Francis Muthaira, the former Head of Public Service, was replaced by Mwaura, a close friend of President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua, in November last year.
Just last month, the Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u replaced five of seven directors of the KRA board with Darshan Shah, Wilkister Simiyu, Fancy Too, Michael Kamau Kamiru, and Samir Ibrahim.
He sent home Charles Omanga, Leonard Ithau, Susan Mudhune, Mukesh Shah, and Richard Opembe, leaving Sally Mahihu and Maryann Njau.
The Constitution allows the President to appoint the chairperson of the KRA board of directors, while the Treasury CS appoints the rest of the members.