Kenya’s Employment and Labour Relations Court has overturned the sacking of Beverly Lebene, a Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) border officer at Busia, deeming it unfair after evidence showed she was framed by colleagues for a 2019 sugar smuggling lapse during her medical visit for a pregnancy scan.
The Smuggling Incident
Two trucks loaded with smuggled sugar from Uganda drove out of the Busia One Stop Border Post on March 28, 2019, bypassing gate documentation and customs verification around 6:30 p.m.
Clinical records and a 6:48 p.m. ultrasound confirmed Lebene was 300 meters away, managing high-risk pregnancy issues, but KRA pinned the blame on her despite having a clean record for 14 years.
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A Faulty KRA investigation
The court found out that KRA had ignored her medical papers and a police probe that cleared her. Two workmates lied against her, with one handing over his shift too early, against the records for that day of the sugar smuggling.
The other had asked her out, got turned down, and held a grudge. KRA didn’t let her question them at her hearing.
The judge called her a “fall person” to hide bigger problems at the border. The judge scolded KRA investigators for ignoring medical records in favour of conflicting testimonies, arguing that they could have checked the nearby clinic or spoken with the doctor, as it was just nearby.
The judge in charge of the case said firing her violated employment laws, but after three years away, she won’t get her job back. Instead, KRA has been ordered to pay her Sh1.3 million to cover 12 months’ salary, one month’s notice pay, court costs, and interest.
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Ongoing Sugar Smuggling Cases
Sugar smuggling across the Busia border to Kenya eludes KRA duties, and illicit shipments undermine local sugarcane farmers in Western Kenya, who struggle to compete on price with the rising cost of production.
The KRA officers who engage in sugar smuggling by enabling trucks to bypass checks with missing digital scanners cost the government billions in lost revenue.
Smugglers take advantage of poor policing at the border, with insiders secretly telling drivers when patrols are not around to tip them off for a good time for smuggling.
In 2019, officials seized more than 10,000 tons of illegal sugar across Kenya, but far more gets through unnoticed, damaging sugar factories.
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