KRA appoints former militaryman as its Border Control boss

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has appointed Col. (Rtd.) James Wahome Kariuki as Deputy Commissioner and the head of Enforcement and Border Control in customs and border control department.

His appointment takes effect on February 1st, 2016.

The appointment reflects the joint commitment of both the government of Kenya and KRA to personalize border security enforcement operations with a view to better securing the country.

Col. Kariuki, a career security professional, joins KRA after a distinguished career with the Kenyan military, where he served in various roles including his latest posting as Col. in charge of operations at the Kenya Defense Forces headquarters.

Among some of the key priorities identified for enhancing customs enforcement and border control capacity include: Developing a dedicated and well-trained border security enforcement cadre; Implementing a National scanner management platform with centralized command and control capability; Upgrading cargo scanning resources at Kilindini port where installation work for 3 new scanners is in progress; and effectively taking over one-step border post (OSBP) management as per cabinet directive of September 2014.

KRA also says that there are other supporting programmes in progress including the joint implementation by Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and KRA of the Pre-Verification of Conformity to Standards Programme (PVoC) and the reform of Shipping Manifest Lodgment Process to bypass intermediaries.