Bomet County Losing Sh800M Annually to Revenue Theft, Fake Tax Collectors

Bomet County is staring at a massive financial haemorrhage, losing nearly Sh800 million in revenue every year to theft, fraud and collusion — a scandal now threatening to cripple service delivery and chase away donor funding.

In a damning revelation, Bomet Municipality Manager Davis Langat and his Sotik counterpart Benard Ngeno said the county collects a mere Sh200 million annually against its potential of Sh1 billion, blaming the shortfall on rogue revenue staff and impostors operating with impunity.

“We are concerned that some revenue staff are using collected money at the source, which is illegal and denies residents critical development projects,” Ngeno told reporters.

The municipal bosses painted a grim picture of a well-oiled racket where unscrupulous county employees pocket taxes, while fake collectors roam markets, towns and bus termini issuing counterfeit permits to unsuspecting traders.

“There are many people who are not our staff but are collecting millions from traders and vanishing with it. This is pure theft from the people of Bomet,” Langat said, warning that the county risks losing donor funding over perennial revenue leakages.

The revelations follow months of complaints from traders who say they have been harassed by multiple tax collectors, some of whom turn out to be fraudsters.

Langat and Ngeno, both recently appointed, have vowed to dismantle the cartel. They announced a multi-agency crackdown, roping in police to arrest impostors manning parking slots, single lanes and main bus terminus points.

“We have already mapped the suspects and we will make arrests. This time, we are determined to seal every loophole,” Langat vowed.

They also warned county employees colluding with outsiders to fleece public funds that they will face disciplinary and legal action.

To stop theft at the source, the managers are pushing for full adoption of the county’s cashless revenue collection system and strict enforcement of designated drop-off points for matatus, which have become a major leakage point.

“Our appeal to traders is to embrace the new system so that every shilling reaches the county’s accounts,” Ngeno added.

The sweeping crackdown is expected to rattle entrenched networks benefitting from the multimillion-shilling heist, setting the stage for a major showdown in Bomet’s revenue sector.