RAIA.AFRICA

RAIA | Kenya’s Civic Intelligence Engine.
Translating dense state records into instant, verified facts on WhatsApp. Building the nation’s civic memory. #RAIAKE

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

RAIA is now listed on the Civic Tech Field Guide, a repository of 15,000+ civic-tech tools and innovations globally.

We are building RAIA on a simple idea: public information should be usable by the people it belongs to. And we are turning complex documents into something people can navigate, question, and act on, without needing to go searching for it.

Proud to be part of this growing ecosystem. We are continuing to build.
#CivicTech #PublicData #AI #Governance

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

We ran a pilot: a WhatsApp Web bot answering Finance Bill questions in plain language with every answer sourced from the 2026 Finance Bill.

61% of people asked from a phone. The top three questions: smartphones, digital payments, the small traders kiosks tax.

You can join the RAIA Chatbot Waitlist here: https://t.co/KJ4uooblGW and test it for yourself when the bot is live on WhatsApp

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

Did the Finance Act 2026 add a new tax on Kenyan content creators? No. But fees paid to non-resident card networks now count as royalties, so withholding tax applies. Read Finance Act 2026 section 2.

Join the RAIA Chatbot Waitlist here: https://t.co/PNwkEUCfLi

Read more on our LinkedIn page: https://t.co/grxk1kWZ0F

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

Will cooking gas get cheaper under the Finance Act 2026? Not at the cylinder.

The Act waives VAT, Import Declaration Fee and Railway Development Levy on building large LPG storage, and only above KSh 5 billion of investment. Retail gas is untouched.

Confirm for yourself in the Finance Act 2026 sections 32, 33, 52 and join the RAIA Chatbot Waitlist here: https://t.co/UORzEP2606

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

Does the Finance Act 2026 change your PAYE? No. The bands stay at 10/25/30/32.5/35% and personal relief stays at KSh 2,400.

What is new: employer gratuity is deductible up to 31% of contract pay on contracts of three years or more.

Confirm for yourself in the Finance Act 2026 when the RAIA chatbot launches.

Join the RAIA Chatbot Waitlist here: https://t.co/YkTbmvLeTM

[Julians Amboko @AmbokoJH]

UPDATE: The Revenue Authority is lining up a number of changes to buttress Finance Act 2026's introduction of phased out Income Tax Return filing (see quoted tweet).

The authority says it will:

· Abandon the excel file based filing in favour of a purely web based filing system. So taxpayers won't be downloading

· Expand the scope of the AI-powered virtual assistant, Shuru, for more complex filing

· Upgrade iTax ahead of April 30th, 2027 which will be the debut phase of staggered filing of income tax returns

PS:

· Worth noting the authority says there shall be no Incomes & Expenses Validation for the 2026 year of income, apparently it was only for 2025
· Question, how does this align with the Finance Act 2026 amendment to Sec75 of the Tax Procedures Act?
· If the law provides that the taxpayer has the right to confirm or amend a pre-populated return, doesn't it follow that there shall be a validation exercise accompanying this in the case where an amendment is done?

[Mwango Capital @MwangoCapital]

President William Ruto has assented to the Finance Bill 2026 at State House, Nairobi, making it the Finance Act 2026, with Treasury expecting the new law to raise over KES 100B.

— Dropped measures include KRA’s proposed power to issue agency notices while tax disputes are under High Court appeal, and enhanced taxes on imported and locally assembled mobile phones, with estimated revenue impact of KES 18.7B and KES 18.15B respectively.

— The Act leaves the mitumba tax regime unchanged, removes proposed excise duty on mobile phones and bottled water, and raises the duty-free allowance for personal goods to USD 2,000 from USD 300.

— Remaining revenue measures are concentrated in excise duty, including imported sugar where duty rises to KES 40.00/kg from KES 7.50/kg, tobacco products, antique and classic vehicles at 50% of excisable value, imported MDF, plywood, particle boards, timber, shower heads and heating elements.

— The Act extends the tax amnesty to December 2026, raises the Affordable Housing Levy collection fee to up to 2.0% from 0.5%, cuts the Road Annuity Fund allocation to KES 1.50/litre from KES 3.00/litre, and sets the e-tax system non-compliance penalty at 5% of tax due instead of double the tax due.

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

Full report by @demos https://t.co/YFp3nIanZb

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

When you Google an MCA candidate that doesn’t exist, and your AI tool insists that the candidate exists, who do you believe?

This is what happened during the 2026 Scottish pre-election period and has been documented: 🧵

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

If you are a citizen, good practice starts with cross-checking information against official public records first. We make that easy and possible. Join our waitlist for access to RAIA directly on Whatsapp 📲: https://t.co/sDEZ1Dg8mD

If you are building in this space: the accuracy parameters in your architecture are a civic responsibility.

#CivicTech #KnowYourCandidates #ResponsibleAI #ElectionIntegrity #PublicInterestTech #Misinformation

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

Tired of tracking the Finance Bill 2026 through broken links and scanned PDFs? Holding the government accountable just got easier. Test our lite RAIA WhatsApp bot here: https://t.co/dSnqmoPQhy

#FinanceBill2026

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

Tired of tracking the Finance Bill 2026 through broken links and scanned PDFs? Holding the government accountable just got easier. Test our lite RAIA WhatsApp bot here: https://t.co/dSnqmoPQhy

#FinanceBill2026

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

Looking forward to being at #MozFest and engaging with similar-minded people building tools & systems for civic engagement.

[Mozilla Festival @mozillafestival]

In nature, no single organism controls the forest.
The intelligence is distributed, underground, and shared. This is what #MozFest is grounded in.
Tech as we know it is primed for a rewilding. 🌱
Join us at #MozFest this October. Tickets now live!
https://t.co/FS1O4chVPm

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

Data isn’t just numbers—it’s leverage. 📊 By putting data directly in the hands of the community, we’re empowering everyone to demand the care they deserve. https://t.co/o5W3KTWeBA

[RAIA.AFRICA @HelloRAIA]

I just joined the waitlist for RAIA. Let's build Kenya's civic memory together. https://t.co/p6kXfhFZVm