This archive report was first published on 27 September 2019.
On September 27, 2019, the High Court delivered a significant ruling in favor of the Central Bank of Kenya, allowing the image of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta on the new currency notes.
Justices George Kimondo and Ashnat Ongeri dismissed the petitioners' claims, ruling that the image of Mzee Kenyatta used in the new currency is part of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre and not a portrait as argued.
The court's decision dealt a blow to the petitioners who had challenged the legality of the image, and it marked a win for the Central Bank of Kenya, which had been embroiled in a legal suit over the rollout of the new currency.
The bone of contention was a picture of Kenya's founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's in the new generation banknotes.
Additionally, the judges ruled that the Central Bank of Kenya has the mandate and discretion to withdraw the 1000 notes despite not having gone through a public participation exercise.
