Latest news with #Odhiambo
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Outrage in Kenya over detention of software developer
Kenyans have expressed outrage over the detention of a software developer who created a tool to help people oppose the government's annual finance bill because of fears that it will raise the cost of living. Rose Njeri was detained on Friday after police raided her home in the capital, Nairobi, and seized electronic devises, activists said. Police and the government have not yet commented on the detention of the mother of two. Mass protests broke out last year after the government proposed tax hikes, forcing President William Ruto to withdraw the 2024 finance bill. The bill outlines the government's spending priorities for the next financial year, and how it intends to raise income. At least 50 people were killed and dozens were abducted in a security force crackdown to end the protests that broke out last year. Law Society of Kenya (LSK) president Faith Odhiambo told the BBC Newsday radio programme that Ms Njeri's detention was a "recurrence of dictatorship". The 'tax collector' president sparking Kenyan anger BBC identifies security forces who shot Kenya anti-tax protesters On Sunday, a group of activists gathered outside a police station in Nairobi, where the software developer is being held, to demand her release. Ms Odhiambo said that Ms Njeri - whom activists visited in prison - was "crestfallen" because with Monday being a public holiday, she had not yet been brought to court. Attempts to get her released on bail had failed, she added. "This has always been a government way of oppressing, intimidating and suppressing citizens because they know the courts don't sit over the weekend – and now we have a public holiday," Ms Odhiambo said. Boniface Mwangi, one of the activists who had visited Ms Njeri in custody, said she told them that police had ransacked her house and taken her phone, laptop and hard drives. He said she was worried about her two children. "Imagine having to tell her children that she's in jail for developing a website that eases public participation for Kenyans who want to submit their proposals on the 2025 budget," he said on X. Ms Njeri was detained after sharing a link to a site that flagged clauses in the bill that she said would lead to the cost of living escalating. It also allowed people to email parliament, calling for the bill to be withdrawn. She also raised concern that a proposal to amend tax procedures, allowing the tax authority to access personal data without a court order, could undermine privacy rights. The new finance bill replaces the zero-rated tax provision on essential commodities with tax-exempt status. Zero-rated goods are taxed at 0%, and suppliers do not charge value-added tax (VAT) to customers but can still claim input VAT on the materials used in producing these goods. Tax-exempted goods are also not subject to VAT but suppliers cannot claim back input VAT, leading to higher prices for consumers or reduced profit margins for businesses, economists and activists say. Finance minister John Mbadi recently admitted that tax-exempt goods may be "slightly more expensive" but explained that the move was necessary to close tax loopholes. He said the government had determined that traders do not pass the zero-rating benefit to consumers, while some make "fictitious and fake" claims for refunds. Mbadi is scheduled to present the government's spending and tax proposals in parliament next week. Last week, Ruto apologised to Kenyan youth for "any misstep" in dealing with them since he took office in 2022. Last month, he said that all the people who had been abducted after last year's protests against tax hikes had been "returned to their families". How Kenya's evangelical president has fallen out with churches Kenyan president's humbling shows power of African youth Protesters set fire to Kenya's parliament - but also saved two MPs Mourning mother's anger at Kenyan migrant smugglers Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
Zawya
02-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Kenya: Mwalimu sacco foregoes $62mln put in Spire Bank
Mwalimu Deposit taking National Sacco has received regulatory approval to write off Ksh8 billion ($62.01 million) of bungled investments in the collapsed Spire Bank. It is a sacrifice necessary to turn around its fortunes that have seen the Sacco facing total collapse. Now regulators want it to also reorganise its insurance and asset management business into separate, independent units to prevent further financial bleeding. The sacco owned by teachers is working to regain a solid financial footing after investing over Ksh13 billion ($100.77 million) of members savings into a troubled third tier lender that collapsed after a string of losses. The Central Bank of Kenya has now granted conditional approval for its eventual liquidation. Mwalimu Sacco had been Kenya's largest by assets (Ksh66.43 billion, $514.96 million). But it has now agreed on a six-year (2022-2027) capital deficiency restoration plan to gradually cancel and remove the Ksh8 billion ($62.01 million) failed investment from its books. It is a move aimed at preventing drastic depletion of reserves and ensuring the society continues to operate as normal.'In 2014, of course, we had some investments that did not go down well. Actually, it slowed down our growth projections we were looking at such as revenues, total assets among other parameters,' Kenneth Odhiambo, CEO of Mwalimu Sacco told The EastAfrican in an interview this week.'So, it slowed us down a little bit until 2022 when we offloaded the bank that we had bought, of course, which did not do well and now we picked up from there and changed our business model in terms of how were to operate.'After that, he says the sacco approached the Central Bank to discuss an arrangement on capital restoration.'We agreed that can we write off these losses over a period of time without interfering with the business. It would be almost Ksh8 billion ($62.01 million), and we agreed on a time frame of around six years.'The plan has been approved by the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) in consultation with the Ministry of Co-operatives. It allows Mwalimu sacco management to write off the investments gradually. So far, the sacco has written off Ksh2.49 billion ($19.3 million) in three years comprising Ksh700 million ($5.42 million) in 2022, Ksh846 million ($6.55 million) in 2023 and Ksh948 million ($7.34 million) in 2024, with plans scale up the monthly write offs to Ksh1.7 billion ($13.17 million) in 2026 and eventually clear the whole amount in 2027. Mr Odhiambo says the sacco has changed its operating model to improve revenue and keep the business afloat. It is targeting to raise revenues from Ksh9.3 billion ($72.09 million) in 2024 to Ksh13.1 billion ($101.55 million) in 2025. One way of achieving that, he said, is to recruit more members from among the teaching community, extending its presence to the grassroots, green financing and transactions incomes from the digital platforms. The sacco has also procured the services of consultancy and audit firm Ernst&Young (E&Y) to restructure its insurance and asset management business by June this year to de-link its core (Sacco) business from the non-core business. The Sacco runs two main subsidiaries —Mwalimu Risk Insurance Brokers and Mwalimu asset management.'One thing we have also done is that we will restructure our other subsidiaries, something that has gotten regulatory approval. We want to disengage them totally from the Sacco business so that they can operate separately and get their own funds to be able to operate.'Insurance brokerage and asset management,' said Odhiambo.'By June we shall be doing the transactions to restructure our group and ensure that the performances of those subsidiaries does not affect the main Sacco.'Mwalimu Sacco had acquired 100 percent shareholding in Spire bank (formerly Equatorial Commercial Bank) from the then late business tycoon Naushad Merali in a deal estimated at Ksh3 billion ($23.25 million) between 2015 and 2020Mwalimu Sacco first acquired 75 percent shareholding from Mr Merali at a price of Ksh2.4 billion ($18.6 million) 2015 and later acquired the remaining 25 percent in November 2020. However, Spire Bank fell into a financial crisis soon after. The Sacco's board would blame Merali for the poor performance of the Bank after he withdrew all of his deposits amounting to Ksh1.7 billion ($13.17 million) in 2016 immediately after selling his shares. In September 2022, Equity bank announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Ksh945 million ($7.32 million) worth of loans and another Ksh1.32 billion ($10.23 million worth of deposits from the struggling lender. That deal would be concluded in February 2023 and Equity Bank acquired about 20,000 new depositors and 3,700 new loan customers from Spire bank. Currently the lender is awaiting a liquidator's hammer, though, in a move that would fold it up completely.'The bank is with CBK, and we have even done a declaration for it to be dissolved. It is no longer even having any impact on us actually.'That is why we are even waiting for the CBK to give us a nod so that we can get a liquidator to come and liquidate the assets as well. The beauty of it is that most of the depositors had gone and loans also have gone,' said Odhiambo. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
