A tax dispute has exposed how the Kenyatta family made over Sh1 billion during the construction of the Nairobi Expressway.

According to a report on the dispute that was published on Tuesday by the Nation Media Group’s Daily Nation, the former first family used proxies in the deals.

However, the proxies who were used have been forced to reveal that they were working on behalf of Enke Investments which is owned by the Kenyatta Family after being slapped with tax demands amounting to tens of millions.

According to the report by the paper, the proxy in the deal was Rose Wamaitha Ng’ote who was registered as the sole owner of Edge Worth Properties Ltd. She allegedly inherited all shares from Ropat Trust Company Ltd.

After this registration, Edge Worth Properties surrendered its land to a company known as Cale Infrastructure Construction Company Ltd, which was the contractor for the Nairobi Expressway.

This land was to be used for the extraction of the sand that was going to be used in the construction of the road. At the same time, the report stated, the land would also be used as the dumping ground for the project’s construction materials.

Citing the Tax Appeals Tribunal case, the report states that in 2022 alone, Edge Worth Properties declared dividends payable to its sole shareholder, Enke Investments, as Sh1 billion.

“Corporates usually set aside between 35 percent and 55 percent of their post-tax profits to pay dividends. That means that Edge Worth Properties could have earned revenues of between Sh1.8 billion and Sh2.8 billion in 2022 alone,” the report stated.

The report adds that after Cale Infrastructure completed extracting the sand, Edge Worth Properties then leveled the land so that it could start hay farming.

“Edge Worth Properties considered the cost of levelling its land as a business expense when calculating the taxes due to the KRA,” the report by the Daily Nation stated.

However, an examination by the Kenya Revenue Authority on Edge Worth’s books of account determined that the land levelling costs should not have been counted as a business expense, sparking a demand for multi-million taxes. The taxman then issued a demand for Sh249.2 million in July 2024.

In response, Edge Worth Properties challenged the tax demand at the Tax Appeals Tribunal on August 23, 2024, and filed documents to show that Ms. Ng’ote was only holding the shares in trust for the Kenyatta family’s Enke Investments.

Edge Worth Properties stated that Ms Ng’ote inherited the trustee role from Ropat Trust Company Ltd, another company associated with the Kenyatta family.

In its protest against the tax demand, Edge Worth further stated that the land would have been leveled regardless of whether there would be hay farming activities on it or not. The firm said that the excavation had left huge pits that were dangerous and needed filling.

It added that KRA should not have demanded taxes from hay farming which was an economic activity that was yet to be done on the farm.

In a decision that was given on February 28, 2025, the Tribunal ruled that KRA could not demand Value Added Tax from the expected hay farming venture. However, the taxman was given the greenlight to demand for corporation tax on the land leveling costs.

KRA then demanded taxes on Sh1 billion dividends that had been allegedly paid out by Edge Worth Properties. The taxman insisted that Ms. Ng’ote was the firm’s sole shareholder and ought to have paid out the taxes on the dividends.

However, the tribunal determined that she was just a trustee and that the real ownership belonged to the Kenyatta family’s Enke Investments.  The tribunal also determined that Enke was exempt from paying the taxes that KRA was demanding.

According to the paper, Enke Investments was incorporated on April 26, 1989. Former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta, her son Muhoho Kenyatta and Goodison Trust Corporation are listed as the owners of Enke Investments Ltd, each with 1.333 million shares.

Muhoho Kenyatta: The man who runs the Kenyatta family business empire

“Mr Kenyatta’s spouse and former First Lady, Margaret Wanjiru Gakuo, holds two sets of shares in Goodison Trust Corporation. The first batch totals 253,300 shares, which past Business Registration Service (BRS) records indicated were held in trust for her brother-in-law, Muhoho Kenyatta,” the Daily Nation stated in its report.

“The second batch Ms Wanjiru holds totals 190,100 shares. Mama Ngina holds one share in Goodison Trust Corporation. Mr Kenyatta’s children, John Jomo Kamau Kenyatta and Ngina Kenyatta, each hold 253,300 shares.”