Kenyans in Diaspora Have till October 1 to Convert Their Ksh 1000 in Kenya

Kenyans living anywhere in the diaspora will have to bring their 1000-shilling notes for exchange with the new currency in Kenya by the October 1 deadline, according to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Patrick Njoroge.

Dr Njoroge ruled out on Thursday, June 20, authorization of any form of conversion of the old notes anywhere else other than in Kenya. He noted that the CBK had informed all the foreign banks to stop recognizing the legacy currency.

The Central Bank of Kenya is also said not to be providing any new generation bank notes to lenders outside the Country as they do not expect the conversion of Kenyan currency to take place anywhere else outside the Kenyan Borders.

“You cannot convert it to any other currency out there since this would defeat the process of demonetization,” Dr Njoroge informed the press.

These are some of the measures put in place to combat illicit money flows that have led to the move to demonetizing the old 1000 shilling currency.

READ ALSO: What you Need to Exchange Current 1,000 Banknotes for New Currency 

“If you have the Kenyan currency and you happen to be outside the country, there is only one way to get value for it before October 1. You have to take a trip here and go through the procedures outlined in the gazette notice and subsequent releases,” Dr Njoroge said at a press on 20^th June 2019.

Uganda, Tanzania, and the United Kingdom are some of the Countries that have come out to audibly support Kenya in the move to cleanse its currency.

The CBK Governor ruled out any possibility of an extension to the period of converting the notes saying the October 1 remains the deadline and extending it would be creating loopholes for money acquired illegally to get converted.

Dr Njoroge also shrugged off concerns of a discussion on whether it should be ‘Benki’ or ‘Banki’ as indicated on the new currency notes, saying that the name had been coined from the English name ‘Bank’.

The CBK Governor said that the name had been like that since the bank’s establishment in 1966 and the board found no benefit in changing it.

READ ALSO: Grace Period to Exchange Ksh1000 Notes Likely to Fail in Tackling Illicit Financial Flows