President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday reappointed Dr Patrick Njoroge as Central Bank of Kenya boss, effectively ending several months of uncertainty.
In a special gazette notice, Dr Njoroge whose tenure was set to end on June 19,2019, will now serve until 2023.
On Saturday at Narok Stadium, Dr Njoroge unveiled new currency in presence of President Uhuru Kenyatta, a decision seen as a new tactic in the fight against corruption.
But in his address, Njoroge said the move was informed by many cases of counterfeits that had threatened to sabotage Kenya's economy.
“The emergence of counterfeits has become a great concern. All the Sh1000 notes were withdrawn by a gazette notice on Friday. Those in possession [of the bank notes] have until October 31, 2019 to release them,” said Prof Njoroge who urged Kenyans to have the notes changed as quoted by the Nation.
While unveiling the new currency, Dr Njoroge also said that Sh1,000 notes will be phased out by October 1st this year. He rejected calls to reduce the deadline by politicians allied to DP William Ruto.
“The grace period will allow banks and other financial institutions to have enough stock of the new generation Sh1,000 notes,” he said.
He was first appointed in 2015 and took over from Prof Njuguna Ndung'u. It's during his tenure that Imperial Bank was placed under receivership.