CBK's Patrick Njoroge faces catch-22 in taming shilling free fall

Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge pauses for a photo with Treasury CS Ukur Yatani at the Parliament buildings before the presentation of the 2022/23 budget on April 7, 2022. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Of the many functions performed by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), regulating the foreign exchange market has been close to the heart of the current boss Dr Patrick Njoroge.

Yet, the shilling has been on a free fall. It has suffered the longest nose-dive in recent times, with one dollar fetching 115.7 units of the local currency in the foreign exchange (FX) market.