Former Industrialisation Cabinet Secretary Adan Abdulla Mohamed has officially taken over as the new Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority.
He was sworn into office during a ceremony held at the Supreme Court of Kenya on Wednesday and the oath was administered by Judiciary Registrar Winfridah Mokaya.
Adan now assumes leadership of the country’s tax authority at a critical time when the government is under increasing pressure to boost revenue collection, widen the tax base and support economic recovery amid tight fiscal conditions.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi appointed Adan to the position through a special Kenya Gazette notice dated May 18, 2026, giving him a three year term at the helm of KRA.
He replaces Humphrey Wattanga, who exited the authority earlier this year after being nominated as Kenya’s High Commissioner to Canada.
The appointment places one of Kenya’s most experienced corporate and public sector figures in charge of the institution responsible for collecting billions in taxes used to finance government operations and development projects.
Adan brings decades of experience in banking, trade and public administration. Before joining government, he served as Managing Director of Barclays Bank Kenya and later oversaw Barclays operations across East and West Africa.
He also previously served in senior Cabinet positions under former President Uhuru Kenyatta, including Industrialisation and Trade, East African Community and Regional Development, and at one point acted as Agriculture Cabinet Secretary.
His appointment is also being viewed as a major signal by the Ruto administration as KRA moves to strengthen tax compliance while at the same time improving the business environment for investors and enterprises.
The authority has in recent months intensified digital tax systems, compliance enforcement and efforts to increase domestic revenue mobilisation without hurting economic growth.
Adan’s swearing in, however, comes amid a developing legal challenge after a Nairobi petitioner moved to court questioning the appointment on grounds linked to public service regulations and retirement age requirements.
The matter is expected to be mentioned in court later this month.
The new KRA boss is a first class Bachelor of Commerce graduate from the University of Nairobi and also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
He previously worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in London before rising through the banking sector ranks.