Edgar Manasseh etched his name in Kenya’s financial history as the man who not only envisioned the creation of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) but also became its first Commissioner-General.
At a time when the country grappled with overdependence on donor funding and conditional aid, Manasseh pushed for a homegrown solution — a strong revenue agency that would make Kenya financially independent.
“The dream I always had was to give Kenya revenues that would make it unnecessary to beg for money from the IMF and World Bank, who imposed so many conditions that were politically unfavorable,” Manasseh said.
He had both the vision and the power to make it happen. Not just as a technocrat, but as the man who made the case to Parliament, then made the case for himself.
“I was appointed the Financial Secretary at the Treasury. That was luck because I was the one who wanted the Revenue Authority established, and I was also the one who pushed it to Parliament and ensured it was approved. That is how we came to have the Revenue Authority,” he recalled.
Edgar Manasseh: Visionary Behind KRA’s Creation and First Commissioner-General
Mannasseh did not just support the creation of the Kenya Revenue Authority—he drove it, through cabinet papers, legislative drafts, and debate.
Manasseh explained that when he moved to the Treasury as Financial Secretary, he took responsibility for pushing the idea of establishing the Revenue Authority.
Importantly, he was involved in drafting cabinet papers and other necessary documents until the bill was eventually taken to Parliament for debate and approval.
At the same time, he also chaired steering committees while continuing with his duties as Financial Secretary.
The day the bill passed, he was there. When Parliament concluded the final reading, Edgar Manasseh sat in the chamber and watched as the bill officially became law. “I came back to the office very happy that now we had the Revenue Authority,” he recalled.
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But then came the hardest question: who would lead it? As Financial Secretary, he was tasked with making a recommendation for the first Commissioner-General.
He looked across the service, then looked inward. “I thought about the journey that had started back in 1976, and I said, I think maybe you should just accept me to go back to the Revenue Authority and become the first Commissioner-General.”
In that moment, he chose to demote himself in title but rise in legacy. Edgar Manasseh, the first Commissioner-General, was the man who not only fought to build KRA but also led it into history.
He recalled how the then Finance Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, questioned why he was demoting himself to take up the Commissioner’s role.
He responded that his interest was in ensuring Kenya generated its own resources to remain independent of bilateral lenders and Bretton Woods institutions.
“So, reluctantly, Mudavadi agreed, and I moved to the Revenue Department and started it.”
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Professional Career and Education
Edgar Manasseh was appointed as KRA’s first Commissioner-General in July 1995, serving until January 1996.
At the same time, he served as Financial Secretary at the Treasury from 1994 to 1996, a position that made him the government’s chief accounting officer and Paymaster General.
In 2012, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) contracted him as a Senior Revenue Administration Advisor in The Gambia.
His assignment was to review the country’s tax system, introduce controls for efficiency, and guide the transition to a Value Added Tax regime, which was successfully launched in January 2013.
Since 1999, Manasseh has run his own consultancy, Manasseh Associates Tax, where he helps corporations navigate complex tax matters.
Manasseh pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography, Economics, and French at the University of Nairobi from 1965 to 1968,
Before that, he attended Shimo la Tewa School, where he completed his Higher School Certificate in 1964, specialising in Geography, History, and English Literature.
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