Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko says he can no longer withdraw money from his bank account, days after the Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA) moved to recover an alleged tax debt of more than Sh623 million.
In a notice dated October 12, KRA appointed First Community Bank as an agent for tax recovery and directed it to remit funds held on Sonko’s behalf toward the claimed liability. The sum sought is Ksh623,389,105, comprising about Ksh308.92 million in principal tax, Ksh15.76 million in penalties, and Ksh298.72 million in interest. KRA also warned that the bank could face personal liability if it failed to comply without reasonable cause.
Sonko says the block has left him unable to access his money, but insists he is not short of options. He says he has other sources of income, including business deals in Dubai.
A long-running dispute
The case traces back to KRA’s review of deposits into 11 bank accounts held by Sonko between 2013 and 2019. After KRA partly confirmed its assessment in December 2024, Sonko appealed to the Tax Appeals Tribunal in January 2025. The tribunal has already stepped in on his side before. In April, it directed KRA to lift agency notices that had frozen his accounts while his appeal is heard. An earlier ruling in December ordered the same for his Equity and Co-operative Bank accounts.
Here is a video of Sonko revealing that KRA has frozen all his bank accounts.
https://twitter.com/citynews254/status/2118254048105398472/video/1
