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WhatsApp chats seal fate of KRA staff axed for demanding million-shilling bribe

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A WhatsApp message in Swahili, indicating a demand of Sh6 million bribe failure to which taxes in full would apply, has sealed the fate of former Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) employee Eric Asebe.

Photo credit: Pool

'Six million, kama hataki alipe (if not he pays).'

This WhatsApp message in Swahili, indicating a demand of Sh6 million bribe failure to which taxes in full would apply, has sealed the fate of former Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) employee Eric Asebe.

Asebe's bid to challenge the taxman's move to terminate his employment was rejected by the court.

In addition, the court decided that he is liable for the legal costs incurred by KRA after his claim of unfair and unlawful termination over bribery claims.

A judgment delivered on January 31 by Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge James Rika held that the termination of Asebe’s employment was fair and lawful.

“The claimant ought to have introspected before lodging the claim against KRA, in light of the weighty evidence of wrongdoing, stacked against him. KRA has been compelled to respond to the claim, over the past three years, and has incurred costs. The claimant shall pay the costs of the claim to the respondent,” said the judge.

The court was satisfied that Asebe’s dismissal as clerk was justified under Sections 43, 44(4), and 45 of the Employment Act.

His summary dismissal was deemed both fair and valid, and the remedies he sought—including reinstatement and compensation exceeding Sh1.7 million—were not merited.

Asebe had served as a clerk in the Customs and Border Control Department for six years before his contract was terminated on February 25, 2022.

Before his termination, he received a letter summoning him to appear before the KRA’s disciplinary panel to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him.

“I appeared before the panel on February 3, 2022, and was informed that I was being investigated for soliciting a bribe,” he said.

When he asked for evidence of his alleged involvement, he was stunned to learn that the panel possessed WhatsApp messages involving him and colleagues, which they claimed were connected to bribery.

“I asked the panel to switch on my phone so I could read and confirm the messages. However, my phone was in the custody of the KRA, and this request was denied,” he testified.

Asebe further alleged that the KRA acted maliciously.

“They approved my promotion while secretly charging me with soliciting a bribe,” he claimed. He contended that he was denied a fair hearing and that primary evidence was not presented.

He also argued that despite being promised re-employment on permanent, pensionable terms at the time of his sacking, he was selectively targeted during the disciplinary process while his colleagues were spared.

In response, the KRA maintained that Asebe’s contract was terminated due to gross misconduct.

The Taxman stated that Ryce East Africa Ltd had lodged a complaint against him for soliciting a bribe while discharging his duties.

According to KRA documents, on November 11 and 12, 2019, Asebe, alongside colleagues Sheila Barasa and Fredrick Githinji, conducted a compliance check at Ryce East Africa Ltd—a company that imports completely knocked down (CKD) motorcycles.

The officers noted discrepancies between the actual number of imported motorcycles and the figures declared in the control sheets, resulting in an initial tax demand of Sh44 million. This amount was later revised to Sh16 million.

When Barasa left to proceed on annual leave, Asebe continued pursuing the tax demand.

KRA records reveal that he discussed the amount of bribe to be sought from Ryce East Africa Ltd, stating “6m mwisho, kama hataki alipe” (Sh6 million is the final offer, if she doesn’t want, let her pay the taxes).

When the company raised the issue with the KRA, investigators were launched into his conduct.

The investigators seized Asebe’s mobile phone and retrieved WhatsApp messages that purportedly showed discussions about the bribe.

KRA’s internal investigator Omar Matano testified that the evidence was not solely based on the messages but also included a forensic report conducted on Asebe’s phone.

“It is not true that the officers were discussing personal business via WhatsApp. They mentioned Ryce East Africa Ltd multiple times. There was a clear solicitation of a bribe, and the compliance check procedures were not at issue,” he asserted.

Human Resource Manager Kiogora clarified that the charges against Asebe were strictly for the solicitation of a bribe, not for any breach of audit procedure.

“Officers are allowed to communicate with each other, but their messages explicitly stated, among other things, that ‘6 million mwisho’ (six million, that’s final). Discussions between the officers in WhatsApp were not personal but criminal,” he said.

DCI officer and forensic examiner John Mutinda’s evidence further sealed Asebe’s fate.

He examined WhatsApp messages on six phones—after Asebe had signed a consent form for data retrieval—which showed exchanges with colleague Sheila discussing the bribe from Ryce East Africa Ltd complainant, Terry Mburu.

The messages indicated that after visiting the company, the officers returned to their offices at Times Tower and initially raised a tax demand of Sh44 million against Ryce East Africa Ltd, later reducing it to Sh22.1 million and then to Sh16 million.

The evidence revealed that at some point, the officers shifted from a legitimate tax demand to demanding a bribe. They began with an initial figure of Sh6 million.

Another text read “hakuna noma… as long as it is reasonable, tutachukua” (no problem… as long as it is reasonable, we’ll accept it).

The negotiations continued, with the bribe eventually being reduced to Sh200,000—evidenced by a message stating “hapo ndipo tupo… na walipe Sh200k” (that is where we stand, let them pay Sh200,000), followed by “hata mkia ni nyama tu” (even the oxtail is as good as beef steak).

When the bribe was not forthcoming, the officers then decided to raise a tax demand of Sh39 million, as indicated by the message “Ryce walitutoa nyama kwa mdomo” (Ryce pulled the meat from our mouths).

Another message stated, “Nachora demand kesho, Mama asign” (I will draw up the demand notice for the supervisor to sign).

However, Asebe denied these text messages but clarified that officers normally discussed personal issues on WhatsApp.

In his evidence, he suggested that the texts were innocent interactions, between officers, and had nothing to do with official business.

However, Justice Rika dismissed this defence, noting that the evidence did not support his claim.

The judge emphasised that the data was legally extracted from Asebe’s phone—after he had provided consent—and that the investigators’ actions did not violate any laws regarding procedural fairness or data protection.

“The claimant and his colleague appear to have become disillusioned with Ryce Limited for not paying the bribe, which has been revised down from Sh6 million, to Sh200,000. The meat had indeed been pulled away from their mouths, and they reverted to making a high tax demand in the sum of Sh39 million against the taxpayer, Ryce Limited,” said the judge.

The court ruled in favour of the KRA, affirming that Asebe’s termination was both fair and lawful, and ordering him to cover the legal costs incurred by the taxman.