List of Shame-Scandalous Saccos Kenyans Need to Avoid

Kenyans forget fast which make them great targets to con artists adding to the financial desperation among the majority of Kenyans who cannot afford all the basic needs comfortably making them most vulnerable to shady deals. Saccos have in recent years been hailed as a pathway to financial freedom but just like any other sack of potatoes; you can never miss a rotten few.

Saccos too can be a pathway to depression and an early grave if one fails to have due diligence and investigate before transferring their life savings.

Kenyans, however, continue to channel their life savings to the most famous Saccos amongst their peers and friends instead of the most legit Saccos that are registered and with a proven track record. Below is a list of scandalous Saccos that have been blacklisted for illegally collecting money from Kenyans and running front offices as they say, once bitten, twice shy.

List of Scandalous Saccos in Kenya

1. Ekeza Sacco
2. Good Life Sacco Society Limited/Fedha Micro-Finance Investment Limited
3. Moi University Sacco
4. Nitunze Sacco Society Limited

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Ekeza Sacco

Ekeza Sacco is one such Sacco that has made its name known for its controversies and finally deregistration. Ekeza was founded by televangelist and founder of Calvary Chosen Centre Bishop David Ngari also known as Gakuyo.

Ekeza Sacco was deregistered after it got entangled with its sister company Gakuyo Real Estate. Ekeza had largely failed to abide by the rules set by the regulatory body Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) and went ahead to operate in at least three other counties despite receiving authorization to only work in one.

Ekeza had over 80,000 registered members who’d paid a registration fee of 2,000 shillings, despite its bylaws indicating 338 members, before they could begin saving for a house.

A table banking group was required to provide a registration certificate and 6, 000 shillings while those opening a joint account paid 4,000 shillings as registration fees, individuals contributed 1,000 shillings every month.

Ekeza, advertised across Kikuyu radio and TV stations and had 26 branches and with deposits totaling to 3 billion shillings.

Ekeza has since joined a list of deregistered Saccos and led as the most scandalous Sacco of all time in the country.

Good Life Sacco

Good Life Sacco Society Limited was founded by Obadiah Maina and got liquidated in October 2018 after an audit by the Co-operatives ministry revealed that it had breached all regulations on handling member funds.

The savings society had collected over 1 billion shillings with branches in Nairobi, Eldoret, Thika, Nyeri, Nyahururu, and Nakuru.

Good Life Sacco’s license was canceled and former members got invited to file claims after the Sacco was liquidated.

Moi University Sacco

The government revoked the license of Moi University Sacco in July 2018 and placed it under liquidation.

Through a gazette notice, commissioner for co-operative development Mary Mungai canceled the registration of the deposit-taking Sacco and appointed two liquidators to take custody of the troubled Sacco for 12 months.

Nitunze Sacco Society Limited

Nitunze Savings and Credit Co-operative Society previously known as Mumias Out-growers Sacco Society fell into a hot mess when four of its former directors were charged with theft of 50.7 million shillings.

Protus Opondo, Michael Washika, Peter Magero, and Francis Omusinde faced 10 counts of theft, conspiracy to defraud and failing to submit the Saccos’ audited accounts to the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority for its approval.

The four directors were accused of stealing 9, 579, 929.61 shillings between April 28, 2018, and January 24. They also stand accused of illegally selling 2,000 shares of Nitunze Sacco and stealing 24 million shillings.

Peter Magero and Protus Opondo faced separate charges of stealing 17.2 million shillings from the Sacco between 22^nd April 2014 and 2^nd May 2014. Peter and Protus were also charged with conspiring to defraud 17.2 million shillings by pretending they would loan the amount to Nitunze Sacco members and conspiring to steal 24 million shillings in the pretense of settling balances of Sacco members’ at KCB and outstanding loans at KUSCCO

With the rising of Saccos, Kenyans need to seek the right information and guidance before investing in a majority of the avenues to avoid losing their life savings to conniving professional con artists.