‘Ask how much they’ve paid in taxes’ – Senator Kajwang reacts to net worth of Ruto’s CS nominees

Kajwang who was speaking on Monday, August 5, 2024, during a televised interview with one of the local TV stations, said huge amounts of net worth were declared by the CS nominees during their vetting.

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) lawmaker argues that instead of just asking about how much someone is worth, Parliamentary Committee on Appointments should also seek to know how much the nominees have paid in terms of taxes.

“Out of the inquiries that we have been doing yesterday and the previous days on vetting of public officials, we are being given huge amounts of net worth. In fact for me that is the most useless question that we have asked. Because if we are going to ask someone about their net worth, then you must also ask them how much have you paid in terms of taxes,” Kajwang stated.

He argues that Kenya introduces tax on everything including capital gains, and if someone claims to have grown his/her net worth by Ksh100 million in a year, they must state whether they have paid taxes commensurate to the increase in their wealth.

“Someone tells you that my income has grown by Ksh100 million over the last one year because of appreciation of value. But we introduce tax on everything including capital gains. Has this person paid tax commensurate to the increase in their wealth? You are actually making 99.9 per cent of Kenyans look poor,” Kajwang said.

During the vetting process, various nominees declared huge amounts of their net worth.

Cabinet Secretary nominee for Public Service and Human Capital Management Justin Muturi said he is worth Ksh801 million.

Muturi indicated that his wealth appreciated by about 5.6 per cent from October 2022 when he faced the same committee to defend his suitability for the Attorney General position.

Appearing before the vetting committee on Sunday, August 4, 2024, Mutua told the Members of Parliament (MPs) that his wealth increased by Ksh42 million from the time he was first appointed CS over two years ago.

In 2022, when he faced the Committee on Appointments, Mutua placed his net worth at Ksh420 million.

Interior Cabinet Secretary nominee Kithure Kindiki’s net worth has increased by Ksh150 million in 21 months.

In October 2022 when he faced the Committee on Appointment, Kindiki placed his networth at Ksh544 million.

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