The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has appointed a former military man and intelligence expert, Mohamed Abdul M’maka, as the new Commissioner for Investigations and Enforcement in efforts aimed at strengthening the fight against tax evasion, smuggling, and other revenue leakages.
KRA said the appointment by its board on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, following a competitive recruitment process, is expected to reinforce the authority’s enforcement and intelligence capabilities as it intensifies efforts to seal leakage of government revenue through collusion between tax cheats and its staff.
Mr M’maka, a former field intelligence manager and troop commander in the Kenya Defence Forces, brings more than 21 years of experience in intelligence, security, and investigations.
Prior to his elevation, he served as chief manager for intelligence collection from August 2025.
Mr M’maka previously served in several senior intelligence positions within KRA, including chief manager for intelligence coordination and operations and for intelligence exchange, where he helped coordinate intelligence-sharing initiatives aimed at tackling tax fraud and illicit trade.
“In his new role, Mr M’maka will lead KRA’s efforts to detect, investigate, and deter tax fraud, smuggling, and other forms of revenue leakage, while strengthening enforcement mechanisms to safeguard government revenue,” the KRA wrote in a press statement late Thursday, March 12.
He takes over the role last held on a substantive basis by Edward Karanja, who was kicked out of the office in February 2023, months after President William Ruto took office. Mr Karanja, alongside his Intelligence & Strategic Operations counterpart Terra Saidimu, was at the core of the Uhuru-era crackdown on high-profile tax cheats, with arrests usually on Fridays, in what came to be known then as “Kamata Kamata Fridays”.
Prior to joining KRA, Mr M’maka held security and intelligence roles across key institutions, including chief security officer at Kenya Power and manager for security protection and integrity at Kenya Airways. He has in the past also worked as a senior intelligence officer and investigator at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
He holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategy from National Defence University-Kenya, a Master of Arts in Security Management from Egerton University, and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Physics from Kenyatta University.
He has been tasked to lead the Investigations and Enforcement Department, which plays a central role in the KRA’s intelligence-led approach to revenue protection, overseeing the agency’s operations to detect and dismantle tax fraud networks, illicit trade, and other schemes that undermine tax compliance.
He will lead tax investigators, intelligence analysts, and enforcement officers in tracking complex financial flows, monitoring suspicious taxpayer behaviour, and coordinating raids and seizures targeting smuggling rings and tax evasion cartels. The work of the team he will supervise relies on advanced data analytics, intelligence-sharing with other government agencies, and collaboration with international enforcement bodies.
Mr M’maka’s elevation completes the latest recruitment exercise for commissioners at KRA, positions which have all been taken up by insiders.
Since July last year, the KRA board has recruited six commissioners from within the authority, in what chairman Ndiritu Muriithi said last September was a competitive process that attracted applicants from inside and outside Times Tower.
The first appointment came in September 2025 when Nancy Ngétich was named Commissioner for the newly established Shared Services Department. This was followed in November by the appointment of George Obell to head the Micro and Small Taxpayers Department (MST), a unit created earlier in March 2025 to enhance focus on the vast informal and small-business tax base.
On January 12 this year, the board named Alex Mwangi as Commissioner for the newly formed Tax Research and Analysis Unit (TR&A), and three days later, on January 15, appointed Weldon Ng'eno Commissioner for the critical Large and Medium Taxpayers Department.
Dorine Mbingi, who had been serving as acting head of that department, was appointed Commissioner in the Office of the Commissioner General--another new position created to strengthen cross-departmental coordination and oversight of revenue performance.
All six commissioners appointed since last September rose through the ranks at the tax authority. The commissioners serve on five-year contracts, renewable once.
