Bags of rice at the Mwea Rice Growers Multipurpose Cooperative Society stores in Ngurubani town.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has recalled a file in which the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officers and businessmen are accused of denying the government over Sh123 million in taxes through irregular release of imported rice.
Suspects appeared before a Mombasa court on Thursday but did not take a plea after the prosecution informed the court that the ODPP had recalled the file for review.
The court subsequently deferred plea-taking pending outcome of the review, which will determine whether the charges will proceed or be withdrawn.
According to the charge sheet, the suspects face multiple counts including interfering with goods under customs control, conspiracy to contravene customs laws, and neglect of official duty.
In one of the counts, Abdiaziz Moge, Golden Freight Services Limited, Diana Chepngeno, Samson Mwanzanje Gogo, and Nickson Charo Mwashangi are accused of unlawfully interfering with 18 containers of rice at Boss Freight Container Terminal in Mombasa on August 14, 2025.
The prosecution alleges that the suspects colluded to release the containers before customs entries were lodged and taxes paid, contrary to the law.
In a related charge, the same suspects are accused of unlawfully cross-stuffing 20 containers of rice between August 11 and 12, 2025, by transferring the cargo into other containers without authorisation from the commissioner of customs.
The accused are further charged with conspiring, between August 11 and 14, 2025, to unlawfully release the 18 containers of rice imported without lodging customs entries and payment of the requisite customs duty.
The case stems from investigations carried out by KRA, in which the Authority said it had thwarted an attempt to defraud the government of Sh123 million through the irregular clearance of 161 containers of rice at a container freight station in Mombasa between August 1 and August 23, 2025.
