This archive report was first published on 6 September 2019.
On September 6, 2019, police in Machakos County made a significant breakthrough in the fight against counterfeiting. Three suspects, including a Nigerian and a Congolese, were arrested in Yatta area with fake 1,000 new notes.
According to police, the suspects were circulating the fake money in Kakumini village. Officers laid an ambush and caught the suspects, recovering chemicals used to make the fake notes in the process.
“We believe they chose such a place because it is less suspicious,” said Machakos County police boss Farah Maalim, explaining the suspects' decision to circulate their fake papers in a remote area.
The incident comes at a time when the Central Bank of Kenya is conducting a demonetisation process. The deadline for the exercise is September 30, and the banks' regulator says it will not be extended.
So far, CBK authorities said, more than 100 million pieces of old Sh1,000 notes, out of 217 million pieces in circulation, have been collected. CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge announced on Madaraka Day that CBK was withdrawing the old notes in a bid to counter counterfeits.
