Over the past few years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has consistently advised the Kenyan government to broaden its tax base by targeting high-revenue sectors. These are industries that make billions but contribute very little to the tax basket. The problem is, many of these sectors are dominated by politically connected tycoons like Devki’s Narendra Raval.
His grip on the system is so tight that reports have surfaced claiming he wants the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to pay his taxes. This is not just about tax evasion it shows how broken and biased the system has become.
While ordinary citizens are being taxed to the bone, billionaires like Raval walk free, expanding their business empires with state protection and immunity.Before the Finance Bill protests last year, the IMF raised concerns about Kenya’s tax policies that unfairly burden the poor while shielding the rich.
But President William Ruto downplayed the warnings, insisting that his plan would work and there was no need to go after the powerful industries. The irony is disturbing these same sectors that Ruto refuses to tax are the ones that consume the most from government coffers through tenders, subsidies, and public infrastructure.
Recently, Ruto went even further by quietly exempting Narendra Raval from paying taxes altogether. This is a man whose companies rake in massive profits, yet instead of demanding accountability, the government bends over backward to protect him. It’s now clear that in Kenya, proximity to power is more valuable than following the law.
Nelson Amenya, a strong voice against economic injustice, has not kept quiet about this growing crisis. He has accused the Ruto administration of protecting individuals like Raval while suffocating the rest of the population.
Amenya says Kenya has become a playground for the rich, where tax exemptions are given to billionaires while mama mboga and boda boda riders are forced to pay levies they can barely afford. He’s questioned why the government is rushing to privatize national assets when the real revenue problem lies with untouchables like Devki.
According to him, these shady tax deals not only drain the national budget but also erode trust in leadership.
Confidence in Kenya’s fiscal responsibility is now shaky, and the IMF is reportedly growing hesitant to issue more loans. Meanwhile, President Ruto’s government is auctioning off critical national assets to foreign powers. If it’s not going to the Arabs, it’s the Chinese, the Indians, or now even the Russians.
There are whispers that the Nairobi-Mau Summit Road, originally promised to China, might soon end up in American hands.
The country is being carved up and sold piece by piece, and yet those who should be paying their fair share, like Narendra Raval, are not just spared they’re rewarded.
This isn’t reform. It’s betrayal. While Kenyans face skyrocketing costs, heavy taxation, and daily survival struggles, the rich elite enjoy a free pass under the protection of State House.
Narendra Raval has become a symbol of the corruption, impunity, and economic injustice that defines the current regime. If nothing changes, the gap between the rich and poor will only grow wider, and Kenya will continue down a dangerous and unstable path.
