This archive report was first published on 29 September 2019.
As the deadline for returning old Sh1,000 bank notes draws near, the Central Bank of Kenya has made it clear that there will be no extension. Governor Patrick Njoroge stated this during the annual inter-banks competition at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies on September 29, 2019.
The government had ordered the return of old Sh1,000 notes on June 1, citing concerns over their use in illegal financial flows. The bank has also raised an alarm over large transactions of old Sh1,000 notes in Narok County, where wheat is being harvested.
Senior Resident Magistrate Martin Rabera in Mombasa has ordered anti-narcotic detectives to replace Sh77,000 of old generation Sh1,000 notes with the new ones before the impending deadline. The magistrate made this order following an application by Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecution Aloise Kemo.
Dr. Njoroge refuted claims of a shortage of the new Sh1,000 note, stating that there will be absolutely no extension after the September 30 deadline, whether or not people will have returned the notes.
