The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General, Humphrey Wattanga Mulongo, has exited the tax agency after the KRA Board announced that it will not renew his contract, effectively marking the end of his tenure.

In a statement issued on April 8, 2026, KRA said Wattanga would proceed on terminal leave, with the Commissioner of Customs and Border Control, Dr Lilian Nyawanda, stepping in as Acting Commissioner-General pending the appointment of a substantive successor.

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Wattanga was appointed the Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on August 22, 2023.

Before his appointment, he was the Managing Director of Meghraj Capital Group, the investment banking advisory arm of the Meghraj Group and an international firm founded by Meghji Pethraj Shah (MP Shah).

In this role, he provided strategic leadership on mergers, acquisitions, partnerships and joint ventures, equity and debt raising and cross-border investments for markets in East Africa, India and Japan. Before joining Meghraj Group, Wattanga served a six-year term as Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) until December 2022.

Wattanga is a corporate finance professional with over 20 years of international experience in mobilising capital and structuring financial transactions in the public and private sectors.

He has also been keen on the application of technology to increase efficiency in organisations.

Wattanga began his career in the United States, working for the largest telecommunications company (AT&T) before relocating to South Africa for a decade as a Senior Partner of AFCORP Investments Limited, a specialist corporate finance and transaction advisory firm undertaking and structuring capital raising transactions across the continent.

Wattanga played a key role in the conceptualisation, design, development and implementation of a groundbreaking mobile gateway platform that linked Kenya's mobile money platforms to the Nairobi Securities Exchange, which was used to launch the M-Akiba bond.

At CRA, he led the performance review of numerous county revenue collection systems and guided a multi-agency effort to specify and develop a Single Integrated County Revenue Management System.

Wattanga has served as a member of the investment committee of Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV), a pioneering climate-smart investment platform that supports small and medium-sized enterprises. He is a Platinum member of the Kenya Institute of Bankers.

Wattanga holds a Master of Business Administration in Information Systems Strategy and Economics from the Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania) and is an alumnus of Harvard University, where he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor's in Biochemical Sciences.

The board commended him for his service, noting that he played a key role in advancing KRA’s mandate and implementing organisational restructuring reforms during his tenure.

"We commend his leadership and instrumental role in our restructuring reforms," KRA said.

"We thank him for his dedicated service to the Authority and the nation."

Following his exit from KRA, President William Ruto nominated Wattanga as High Commissioner to South Africa in a fresh round of diplomatic appointments.

In a notification dated April 8, 2026, the Executive Office of the President said Wattanga is among four nominees earmarked for key foreign missions as part of changes within the Foreign Service.

If approved by Parliament, he will take up the diplomatic posting in South Africa, marking a shift from public finance administration to foreign service.