President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family has been linked to a freshly released declassification that has exposed how the rich and mighty have stashed billions of shillings in offshore accounts.
Uhuru and six members of his family secretly owned a network of offshore companies, according to records obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and shared with more than 600 reporters and media organizations around the world.
They have been linked to 11 firms – one of which was valued as holding assets of US$30 million (Sh3.31 billion).
According to ICIJ, the leaked records listed Uhuru and his mother as beneficiaries of a secretive foundation in Panama.
Other family members, including his brother and two sisters, own five offshore companies with assets worth more than $30 million, the records show, the investigation reveals.
“Kenyatta and his family did not reply to requests for comment,” ICIJ said.
However, ICIJ says that the Kenyatta family began to accumulate much of its offshore wealth before Uhuru became President.
The guardian reported; “In Kenya, the president, Uhuru Kenyatta, has portrayed himself as an enemy of corruption.
In 2018, Kenyatta, told the BBC: “Every public servant’s assets must be declared publicly so that people can question and ask: what is legitimate?”
He will come under pressure to explain why he and his close relatives amassed more than $30m of offshore wealth, including property in London. Kenyatta did not respond to enquiries about whether his family wealth was declared to relevant authorities in Kenya.”