Claims that the old currency notes could be reintroduced into circulation have been doing rounds on social media for a while now eliciting debate amongst Kenyans.
The idea has excited a section of KOT who feel the old notes which were phased out in 2019 were of better quality than the new ones.
It all began with a tweet from Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai last Saturday that the old notes would be making a return.
“Prepare your old notes. They are being brought back into circulation,” Alai said
But exciting as it may seem, the idea is legally impossible as the Constitution prohibits the usage of notes or coins that bear a person’s portrait.
“Notes and coins issued by the Central Bank of Kenya may bear images that depict or symbolise Kenya or an aspect of Kenya but shall not bear the portrait of any individual,” Article 231(4) of the Constitution says.
Economist Samwel Nyandemo dismissed talk about the old notes being reintroduced.
“That would be a retrogressive move and it should be not encouraged. In any case, a new currency was introduced to get rid of dirty money. So the question would be, who wants to benefit by bringing back the old currency?” he posed.
The decision to phase out the old notes was first made public by former President Uhuru Kenyatta during Madaraka Day celebrations on June 1, 2019, at Narok stadium.
He said the move was aimed at ridding the economy of corruptly acquired cash, a claim he would later support by saying the country loses Sh2 billion daily through graft.
The president said introducing the new notes would ensure those who had hidden the illicitly acquired funds do not put it to use.
Speaking during the launch of the new notes, CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge said the old ones were being used for illicit financial flows across the country and in other nations across the region.
“To deal with these concerns conclusively, all the older one thousand shillings will be withdrawn,” he said.
He clarified that it was the 1,000 shilling notes that were completely being phased out but the lower denominations of 50, 100, 200 and 500 would continue circulating alongside the new notes.
“The deadline for exchanging the old series 1,000 notes is and remains September 30, 2019. Those notes will be valueless on October 1, 2019. Be so advised,” Njoroge said.
While dismissing the claim that the old notes could be reintroduced, Nyandemo cited legal hurdles as outlined in the Constitution.
“Unless they bring in a stooge as the Governor of Central Bank who will subjugate legal provisions. Such an idea should be condemned even by the media, it’s retrogressive,” he said.
The new banknotes bear the image of an elephant, lion, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard.
They also bear the features that make them more recognizable by the visually impaired.
