Inspector General of Police nominee Japhet Koome has shared his views on the ‘wash wash’ business.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday he said that many educated people were falling into the business.
“Wash wash business is very unfortunate and it’s embarrassing to see educated people falling for this trap,” Koome said.
He was responding to a question asked by Garissa Senator Abdul Haji who sought the IG nominee to give his view on the business.
Koome urged people to live within their means as they have no other option.
“When giving evidence to the court, people look at you questioning whether it happened. People need to learn to live within their means, they have no option,” he said.
Kenyans have found themselves on the brink of bankruptcy after being duped to join the ‘wash wash’ criminal enterprise.
Over the years, popular neighbourhoods such as Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Riverside Drive, and Westlands have been the homes of upper-middle-class Kenyans.
Unfortunately, the estates have now turned into safe havens for the purveyors of dirty money 'washwash'.
Over time, the upmarket estates have become home to drug dealers, high-end fraudsters targeting foreign businessmen, and dealers in illegal guns, fake currency, murder, and forgery, among other crimes.
In the past three years, detectives have arrested close to 20 suspects over investment fraud (wash-wash) and fake gold merchants, however, their court cases have hardly moved beyond the primary prosecution stage.
Cumulatively, the pending court cases have a value of more than Sh1 billion.
