Mandera miraa traders demand Sh70m for illegal cess collection

Saturday August 4, 2018

Miraa traders in Mandera have filed a suit at the High Court in Garissa seeking compensation for illegal cess collection by the defunct county council and the town council of Mandera.

Trader Ali Ahmed said the group wants to be paid Sh70 million.

This comes after the Court of Appeal in Nyeri declared the daily cess levied on miraa-ferrying vehicles commuting between Meru, Wajir and Mandera illegal.

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The traders sued for a refund of the accrued amount collected but the county government opted for an out-of-court settlement.

But after failing to honour this, the traders moved to the High Court, lawyer Oduor Odinga said.
Yesterday, Finance executive Ibrahim Barrow appeared in court to testify after the settlement was dropped.

The executive, during a four-hour cross-examination, said the cess paid to the county council was not illegal against the ruling made by the Nyeri

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“There is nothing unique with the taxes Ali paid. The court should not allow him to demand almost Sh70 million of public money that he has no prof, nor substantiated and, if anything, for the little that has been paid, services have been received,” Ibrahim said.

High Court judge George Dullu asked the counsel for the parties to write and serve writtens submission within 14 days.

The case was adjourned to September 26.

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