Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Adan Mohamed has survived another legal bid to remove him from office after the Employment and Labour Relations Court struck out a petition claiming he was too old to be appointed.

Justice Monica Mbaru ruled that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case and said the dispute belongs in the High Court, where two other challenges to the appointment have been filed. The ruling means the court did not decide whether Mohamed's appointment breached the retirement age rules.

The case

The petition was filed by activist Francis Awino, who argued that Mohamed, whom he said was 62, had passed the mandatory retirement age of 60 for public officers when he was appointed in May. He asked the court to annul the appointment and order a fresh recruitment.

The KRA board, supported by the National Treasury, raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the case was a public-law challenge to an appointment rather than an employment dispute, and therefore outside the labour court's mandate.

Justice Mbaru agreed. According to the Nation, she said the court was bound by a 2026 Supreme Court decision that limits the Employment court's power to hear public-interest petitions from citizens who have no employment relationship with the institution they are suing. The petitioner had conceded that he was not seeking the job himself and was not claiming that any of his own labour rights had been violated.

Other challenges still pending

The ruling is a procedural win for Mohamed and the KRA board, but the age question remains open in other courts.

  • Benard Opere has a separate petition at the High Court in Nairobi raising the same retirement-age argument under the Public Service Commission regulations.
  • The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek), whose earlier petition at the labour court was also struck out on jurisdiction grounds in May, has taken its case to the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court.

Who is Adan Mohamed

Mohamed, a former Cabinet Secretary for Industrialisation and later for East African Community affairs, and a former chief executive of Barclays Bank of Kenya, was sworn in as Commissioner-General in May, succeeding Humphrey Wattanga.

He took over at a difficult time for the taxman. KRA has struggled to meet revenue targets this financial year and is pushing a series of compliance drives, including closer scrutiny of landlords' rental income and of small traders' mobile money tills, to close the gap.

The High Court cases are yet to be heard on their merits.

Photos: Eastleigh Voice (Adan Mohamed); Ruslik0 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.