- During his election campaign in 2017, President Kenyatta had projected himself as an anti-corruption reformer who is committed to fighting graft.
- Contrary to the projection, the recently published Pandora Papers by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) indicate that Kenyatta’s family has been secretly accumulating funds and hiding them behind offshore corporate veils.
During his election campaign in 2017, President Kenyatta had projected himself as an anti-corruption reformer who is committed to fighting graft. Contrary to the projection, the recently published Pandora Papers by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) indicate that Kenyatta’s family has been secretly accumulating funds and hiding them behind offshore corporate veils. The reports state that Kenyatta, along with his mother, sisters and brother, owned assets worth more than $30 million (€25.8 million). These assets were hidden from public scrutiny through foundations and companies in tax havens in Panama and the British Virgin Islands. Shell companies and Foundations created on the British Virgin Islands and Panama shield their owners from registering their names in public. The report alleges that seven members of Kenyatta’s family are connected to 11 offshore entities.
Unfazed by reports, the president has vowed to clear the air about the report linking the Kenyatta family. The Pandora Papers show that the accounts were opened between 1999 and 2003 before Kenyatta became president. However, the Report has left a dent in his anti-corruption warrior image.
