CBK’s decision to roll-out new bank notes noble, commendable

Central Bank of Kenya Governor Dr Patrick Njoroge briefs the media on the new currencies notes that will replace the old notes at the CBK offices October 1, 2019. [David Gichuru/Standard]

In exercise of power conferred on him by Article 231 of the Constitution, the Governor of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Patrick Njoroge rolled out a few days ago the new-generation currency notes and announced that Sh1,000 notes would be withdrawn and cease to be legal tender on October 1. He caught the leaders, at the Madaraka Day cerebrations in Narok, off-guard after the President invited him to the podium to make this announcement.

This was a historic moment given that he spoke after the President concluded his speech. The CBK’s action was noble and well-thought out. It is meant to smoke out top government officers involved in mega corruption. Initially after stealing, they would not take the money to bank. This is because they feared drawing the attention of anti-graft state agencies and possibly get arrested and arraigned in court.

 The arrests and arraignment of those implicated in the second National Youth Service (NYS) taught them a big lesson. As such, they would open what came to be commonly known as pillow and mattress banking. Besides bedrooms, they would hide the loot in mouldy basements and roof ceilings. With CBK’s new rule, this would now be a thing of the past. The only option is to release the looted cash worth billions of shillings to the economy. The CBK has already ordered banks not to accept financial transactions involving more than Sh5 million. Instead, the people involved in such deals should be referred to CBK. Of course, the DCI officers attached to anti-banking fraud unit would deal with the matter.

You would expect the officers to ask questions. How did you get the money? What business have you been doing? Why were you keeping the money in the house? This explains why it is safer to share your money with the public. One can dish out the loot to their cronies, direct them to buy properties and register them in their names. But here you are risking. The ‘owners’ might refuse to surrender the assets back to you.

Again, you would expect the overzealous detectives to zero in on those involved in questionable transactions. The CBK governor has since revealed that Sh1,000 note was the darling of counterfeiters, drug lords and political criminals. The message here is clear. A clique of politicians was hoarding the notes with the hope of buying voters and their leaders in the countdown to 2022 elections. They are not lucky. If they fail to release the cash, the old Sh1,000 note would be worthless and useless paper after October 1. At this juncture, allow me to explain why I disagree with those criticising the inclusion of the founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s statue on the new currencies. Yes, it is true Article 231 (4) of the Constitution disallows the notes from bearing the portrait of an individual. However, it is totally misleading to equate the portrait of a living human being with an image of his statue. A statue or sculpture is basically a carving from stones or woods.

Therefore, in law, the arguments of those opposed would not hold any water. Again, Kenya is moving away from bondage of negative ethnicity and regional based politics. The handshake between President Kenyatta and Opposition leader Raila is designed to address this problem. The duo’s ultimate goal is to build a united and cohesive country. So far, we have made great strides in these endeavours.  Joseph Mutua Ndonga, political analyst and blogger.