Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Dr Patrick Njoroge is once again on the spot – this time for issuing a seemingly harsh warning to a Nation Media journalist.
Dr Njoroge had apparently been contacted to comment on the controversy around the prosecution of banks that handled the millions of shillings looted from the National Youth Service (NYS).
More specifically, Njoroge was asked to respond to reports that CBK had recommended the prosecution of some top Family Bank officials for failing to report to the Financial Reporting Centre on transactions by the NYS scandal suspects.
In response, the CBK boss – as quoted by the Daily Nation – stated: “You should never call me directly again on this number for any matter.”
“No one calls me directly,” Dr Njoroge added.
The Central Bank has been the subject of recent online criticism after it emerged that more than 20 banks handled money that was looted from the NYS but the regulator only fined three of them, including Family Bank.
On Friday, Imperial Bank Limited depositors accused the CBK Governor of leading to the collapse of the bank by agreeing to a “criminal cover-up” that led to the closure of the bank.
In a letter dated November 9, addressed to Njoroge and CBK Board chairman Mohamed Nyaoga, the depositors claimed Njoroge placed the bank under receivership without the lawful authority of the law.
“At the time when Njoroge placed IBL in receivership, CBK did not have a functional Board of Directors. In the absence of a board, the CBK was not in a position to verify the allegations upon which the Governor based his decisions in closing Imperial,” part of the letter read.
