The Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya; Dr. Patrick Njoroge, has announced the issuance of new notes which were released on 31st May and are now in circulation.
During this year’s Madaraka Day celebration which was attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor, stated that the notes, which are now a legal tender, will serve as a means of passing knowledge, culture as well as promoting Kenya’s global uniqueness.
All the new notes have the photo of the iconic Kenya International Conference Centre (KICC) and also embody each of the big five animals; the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and buffalo.
In a surprise turn of events, Dr. Patrick Njoroge also announced demonetisation of the old 1000 Kenyan Shillings notes.
The move is seen as a major assault on fake currency and corruption.
The Central Bank Governor said people holding the old 1000 Kenyan Shillings notes have until the 1st of October 2019, to exchange the old notes after which they will be declared invalid.
The Governor, stared that “The new banknotes will circulate alongside those previously issued but not withdrawn. However, we have assessed the grave concern that our large banknotes—particularly the older one thousand shillings series—are being used for illicit financial flows in Kenya and also other countries in the region. More recently we have seen the emergence of some counterfeits.”.
He added that “By a Gazette Notice dated May 31, 2019, all persons have until October 1, 2019, to exchange those notes, after which the older one thousand shillings banknotes will cease to be legal tender,”.
