The Trade, Investment, and Industry CS Moses Kuria appointed former Kenya Revenue Officer James Kamau Kinyua to be the chairperson of the National Standards Council.

Kuria announced Kinyua’s appointment in a gazette notice dated January 19, 2023.

Kinyua is expected to hold that position for a period of three months from Friday.

“IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by section 6 (2) (a) of the Standards Act, the Cabinet Secretary for Trade, Investment and Industry appoints-JEREMIAH KAMAU KINYUA to be the Chairperson of the National Standards Council, for a period of three (3) years, with effect from the 20th January, 2023,” the gazette notice read.

Kinyua worked in the position of supervisor in the domestic taxes department at KRA before leaving the authority.

He was later accused by the Ethics and Anti-Corrruption Commission (EACC) of being an ultimate beneficiary of funds acquired due to abuse of office and unethical conduct.

This was after Kinyua is said to have received huge and successive cash deposits in his bank accounts and MPESA and he failed to explain the source of the money satisfactorily.

EACC sought orders to freeze Kinyua’s unexplained assets worth Sh278 million and in May 2022, the High Court granted EACCs prayer.

“The High Court has granted orders sought by EACC freezing unexplained 278 Million assets held by Jeremiah Kamau Kinyua, a former KRA Officer. EACC seeks to have the assets, whose value is disproportionate to his known legitimate sources of income, forfeited to the state,” EACC announced.

According to court documents, Kinyua’s salary between 2012 and 2021 totaled Sh11.6 million and he was employed at KRA as a graduate in 2005 and worked there until his resignation in March 2021.