Whistleblower Email Exposes Judgements, Case Backlogs and Selective Justice In High Court And Tax Appeal Tribunals

Dear Sirs / Madam,

Judgements, Case Backlogs and Selective Justice.

Summary

Better case and resource, time, management by judges, magistrates and tribunal members will go a long way in effectively and efficiently reducing the tax case backlogs at both the High Court and the tribunal.

In April 2021 the High Court delivered 4 judgements in the tax cases before it while the Tax Appeals Tribunal made 31 determinations. As is routine you can be assured that all those who got unfavourable tribunal rulings will automatically appeal to the High Court so as to simply stall the tax recovery process by KRA for several more years. I wonder what percentage of the taxes sort KRA actually recovers at the end of the drawn out litigation process.

One of the primary duties of a judge is to give a timely verdict in a case or dispute.

The maxim Justice delayed is justice denied means that justice is achieved when there are speedy/ efficient trails and resolution of disputes by judges.

It is the trail judge/ magistrate when controls the litigation process e.g setting hearing dates, allowing (entertaining) adjournments and ultimately delivering a judgement. Therefore it is the judge/ judiciary who is/are responsible for the duration a trial takes. E.g notice the numerous mentions, in High Court cases, in the analysis below. Are they justifiable?

In the Kenyan scenario election, read political, cases are expedited. These, including presidential petitions, are time bound, i.e must be heard and determined within a certain time frame.

Recently we have seen the High Court hear and determine the BBI case in record time probably due to “high public interest” in the matter or is it “high political interest”.

Contrast the above with the slow pace at which the other political cases are handled with mentions, adjournments, petitions being the order of the day. All these happen under the watch of the trial judge.

These are but a few examples:

1) Sharon Otieno’s Family Pleads for Justice Two Years After Her Murder.

2) Court stops Senator Mithika Linturi’s arrest in Sh530m forgery case | Nation.

3) Governor Obado, his four children in court over Ksh.73M corruption …

4) Former Telkom Workers Wallow in Poverty As Pension Cases drag on in the courts/tribunal for more than 16 years.

5) Court temporarily stops Ksh.58M fraud case against Evans Kidero By Dzuya Walter For Citizen Digital time updated Published on: July 13, 2020 11:00 (EAT)

 6) Monica Kimani murder: Jowie released on Sh2m cash bail – The Star

7) Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu to face charges in graft claim | Nation.

8) 11 months ago, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) said Covid-19 delayed the prosecution of Embakasi East Member of Parliament(MP) Babu Owino in the shooting of Felix Orinda alias DJ Evolve. Also Nairobi’s B club, where the shooting occurred, is popular with Kenya’s gilded classes. Those unfortunate to live within earshot are less keen, and last October won a court ruling revoking its licence. But legal orders matter little to politically connected nightclub owners.

9) Since 29 September 2016, Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi has fake academic papers – EACC

1) High Court 2021 Tax cases summary. Below is a summary of the tax cases handled by the High Court in the month of January- April 2021. 1) Number of cases dealt with in the month. Jan 2021. = 99 Feb 2021 = 109 Mar 2021 = 115

Apr 2021 = 106 2) Number of judgements. Jan 2021 = 2 cases Feb 2021 = 7 cases Mar 2021. = 3 cases

Apr 2021 Judgements. 1) ITA/E112/2020 Bemms Ltd J. Mativo 2) ITA/E091/2020 Golden Acre Ltd Alfred Mabeya posted twice 15/4/2021 and 22/4/2021. 3) ITA/E042/2020 Sony Holdings D S Majanja

3) Other court actions in 2021: a) Mentions Jan. = 90 Feb. =100 Mar = 91

Apr. = 77 b) Hearings Jan. =6 Feb. =7 Mar =3

Apr. =14 c) Directions Jan. =2 Feb. =2 Mar =4

Apr. = 2 d) Rulings Jan. =2 Feb = 0 Mar = 8

Apr. = 4 e) Highlighting of Submissions Jan =2 Feb =2 Mar =3

Apr. =5 f) Defense Mar = 1 g) Case Management Conference Mar = 2 4) Cases that came up in January-March 2021 that are more that are more than 1 years old. No. Case latest Date Case Ref Year Case Started Company Judge Case Duration