Businesswoman Mary Wambui and Daughter Charged with Evading Sh2.2 Billion Taxes

Businesswoman Mary Wambui and her daughter Purity Njoki were on Thursday charged with evading taxes amounting to Sh2.2 billion.

The two, who are directors of Purma Holdings, appeared before Anti-Corruption Court Magistrate Felix Kombo in the company of their lawyers after escaping a police dragnet on Wednesday night.

They were being sought by police after a warrant of arrest was issued against them last week when they failed to appear in court.

Wambui and Njoki were charged with seven counts of omitting tax returns alongside their company Purma Holdings.

"On or before June 30th, 2015, in Nairobi County, being a limited liability company registered as a taxpayer and its directors; knowingly and unlawfully omitted from the company's income tax returns Sh2,231,789,125 an amount which should have been included in the income tax returns submitted to the commissioner for the year of income 2014," reads the charge sheet.

They pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released on a cash bail of Sh25 million each or an alternative bond of Sh50 million plus two sureties.

The prosecution was opposed to their release on bond, arguing that the two are likely to abscond court proceedings. The court heard that Wambui was found with a permit from Zambia.  

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) had issued an alert to seal border points and airports in a bid to block Wambui from leaving the country after she failed to appear in court to answer to tax evasion charges.

Through their company, Wambui and her daughter are said to have earned billions of shillings from tenders at Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa), the military, among other government agencies.

Wambui was a member of the Friends of Jubilee Foundation lobby which raised millions of shillings for President Kenyatta’s re-election campaign in 2017 in two hours.