6 KENYATTA’S PROPERTIES REVEALED AHEAD OF DEMOS

The family of former President Uhuru Kenyatta has been in the spotlight in recent weeks. President William Ruto and DP Rigathi Gachagua have accused powerful figures in previous administrations of evading their taxes, and have maintained that they will ensure everyone pays taxes.

Ruto accused these individuals of sponsoring anti-government rallies to avoid paying their taxes.

Taking a cue, Kenya Kwanza leaders including multiple Senators have pointed a finger at the former President and his family, demanding that they pay taxes.

The family’s wealth including massive land holdings grew significantly in the independence years under Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta.

His widow, Mama Ngina Kenyatta, is credited with overseeing the family’s diversification into various sectors with the family having its foot in sectors including financial services, dairy processing, hospitality, real estate, media and more.

The leak of the ‘Pandora Papers’ in 2021 also exposed several offshore assets owned by members of the family, including one company with $30 million in stocks and bonds.

Mama Ngina Kenyatta has already come out to deny the tax evasion claims, stating that action should be taken by authorities if they have any evidence of wrongdoing. In a 2018 BBC interview, former President Uhuru Kenyatta maintained that his family’s wealth was acquired legally, and known to the public.

“As I have always stated, what we own – what we have – is open to the public. As a public servant I’m supposed to make my wealth known and we declare every year,” he stated. “If there’s an instance where somebody can say that what we have done or obtained has not been legitimate, say so – we are ready to face any court.”

Here, Business Today looks at some of the family’s known assets including stakes in major companies, offshore investments and land holdings

1. NCBA Group

The Kenyatta family holds a 13.2% stake in NCBA Group, Kenya’s third-largest bank by asset value. For the year ended December 2021, the family received a dividend pay out of  Ksh625.5 million – the highest dividend payout among the bank’s shareholders.

NCBA was established in 2018 following the merger of NIC Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa, with the Kenyatta family having held stakes in the latter.

The merger was completed though a share swap, with NIC group shareholders owning 47 percent of the merged entity and CBA shareholders including the Kenyatta family owning 53 percent of the merged entity.

By Business today