Tag: Bandari Sacco

A vicious board room war has erupted at the troubled Bandari Savings and Credit Cooperative Society (Sacco) in which the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Joseph Bee is embroiled in fights with Chairman Ken Sungu and other members.

Sources from within the Sacco who spoke on condition of anonymity said, “to crown it all there is a silent but vicious boardroom war here, the war pits Chairman Ken Sungu against his Chief Executive Officer Joseph Bee who triggered it all through his own reckless and wild utterances against his chairman” High-level arrogance, deeply rooted corruption scandals and unchecked impunity ruthlessly executed by the CEO are just three of the many reasons that are threatening to completely cripple daily operations of the once giant Sacco based in Mombasa.

The reportedly bad blood between the two bigwigs of the Sacco emanates from words that were allegedly uttered by the CEO Mr Bee in which he is said to have dismissed his chairman as a non-performer and semiliterate. The CEO is said to have told a close confidant that his chairman and another member of the board one Dennis Mjomba, a fire marshal at the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) are semi-illiterate and non-starters. The impeccable source said: “That they (Sungu and Mjomba) are both unable to fully comprehend board deliberations.

Thereby leaving him (CEO) with a huge and unfortunate task of translating the day’s deliberations from English to Luo for the Chairman to follow and understand what’s being discussed.” Mr Bee allegedly said his chairman, being a security officer at the KPA has been struggling to fully understand the day’s deliberations during board meetings, therefore incompetent to chair the organization as national chairman and its management board because he has completely no qualifications for the job.

The unfortunate story later leaked out to the chairman Mr Sungu who is said to have exploded into a monumental rage at being slighted by his CEO who is known as an arrogant ruthless bully. The Chairman is said to have vowed to kick the Chief Executive out of the Sacco who has in the recent past been hit by the widespread exposure of his wild and reckless behavior.

“The CEO’s actions at the Sacco have attracted the attention of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and his officers who have visited the Sacco headquarters in Mombasa to carry out investigations, four times in just the last three months alone,” said another impeccable insider source. The monumental crippling scandals at Bandari Sacco that are threatening to grind its operations to a halt have forced the CEO to enlist the services of a Nairobi based journalist with express instructions to help manage or kill any negative story that may leak out concerning the Sacco, at a huge fee. Our source said, “I had no choice but run to online publishers for my voice to be heard, otherwise most of the other media outlets seem to have been compromised”

The CEO is also on record publicly bragging of allegedly having compromising top DCI operatives to stop any probes into illicit criminal activities at the Sacco involving economic crimes and outright looting of the Sacco’s coffers in which millions of shillings belonging to members’ savings have been gobbled up without a trace.

As at the end of the last financial year, Bandari Sacco had accumulated debts running into billions of shillings that are nearly outstripping its total accumulated assets, thus bringing into question why the regulatory authority SASRA had not cracked the whip as the Sacco hurtles to imminent collapse.

According to a financial statement approved by the Sacco board on January 22nd, 2021 and submitted to SASRA the same day, Bandari had accumulated liabilities in debt to the tune of Ksh. 7, 133, 551, 379.00 billion while its accumulated assets were worth only Ksh. 10, 013, 777, 651.00. That means there is only a difference of less than Ksh. 3 billion for the debts to outstrip Sacco’s accumulated assets that could spell doom to its daily operations and lead to its collapse with accumulated members’ savings at that time valued at Kshs. 974, 812, 601.00 million.

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations(DCI) yesterday camped at Mombasa-based Bandari Sacco to question top officials following claims of misappropriation of funds.

Sources speaking to Kenya Insights confirm that DCI were following up on the claims made by a member John Oucho who had sued the management committee and directors, accusing them of stealing and deliberately running down the cooperative.

In his petition lodged in the High Court, Oucho accuses the members of using an ongoing construction to pilfer money from the members’ Sacco.

The ongoing construction of a perimeter wall has invited scrutiny which has in turn raised questions over the source of funding.

In the long petition, Oucho accuses the officials of using an ongoing construction as an avenue of theft. The ongoing construction of a perimeter wall has invited scrutiny which has in turn raised questions over the source of the funding, something that DCI is investigating. “Respondent Bandari Sacco is in the process of acquiring and putting up a wall on a parcel of land comprising plot No817 on the pretext of investing shareholders money and they had engaged a claim of contractors for the same piece of work,” the petitioner says.

He alleges the decision by the officials was unfair, unilateral and without any consideration from the members, whose input should be key in such investments. On the other hand, the DCI is investigating claims over how the officials acquired the funds for the building, something that has been put at Sh280 million.

Further allegations from human rights bodies allege that the Sacco didn’t carry out due diligence  before making the purchase of the land that cost it Sh280M.

Detectives who raided the premises of Bandari were unable to get statement from the chairman Ken Sungu who’s supposedly on a sick leave.

Bandaro Sacco recently partnered with ABC Bank to improve in service delivery.

Theft

Behind the glossy picture of a well-run, properly managed institution is a case of arm twisting, threat and hubris from the senior management of the organization. It is a case of political protection, underhand dealing and bribing police and anti-fraud investigators. A case of ‘you can do what you want’.

Bandari officials were previously caught in a Sh5M theft dealing a blow to the trust in investors.

In a typical Kenyan corruption protection, Bandari Sacco, chaired by Ken Sungu, a brother to former Kisumu MP Gor Sungu, a very close relation of Oburu Odinga (in-law) and by extension ODM leader Raila Odinga, the Sacco seems to enjoy a lot from the current political setup in the country. Sungu, a vocal MP fell on his own sword after he instigated the investigation on the death of former Kisumu Rural MP and Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Ouko Seda, only for the whole episode to boomerang on him, a matter was not taken lightly by residents of the his constituency, leading to the unceremonious exit from parliament after the 2007 General Elections.

It turned out that he was a close confidant of the murdered minister and he was playing cover-up for some murderous forces when he raised the matter in parliament after the 2002 General Elections that swept Mwai Kibaki to power. Rumours had it that he pocketed a tidy amount from some of the suspects. The beleaguered brother faces the same fate at the Sacco whose majority are 17,000 employees of the giant Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). He is a hunted and haunted man as reality catches up with him.

The CEO Joseph Bee Otieno has also been lined for questioning.

But, the whole episode does not end with the questioning. Several officials have changed their telephone numbers several times including the chairman to avoid DCI sleuths who have been circling awaiting arrest.

On the other hand, members of the Sacco are up in arms baying for the blood of the officials they accuse of many things that are not limited to the running of the institution. Information availed to us indicate that Sungu, his vice Johnson Kegoi and treasurer Lorna Riasi have gone missing in the recent past with telephone enquiries going unanswered.

Further information from our sources at Bandari Sacco indicate that the officials failed to show up in court after summons by Lady Justice Olga Sewe last month. According to our sources, a member John Oucho lodged a petition in the High Court accusing the officials of stealing from the Sacco and various allegations including fraudulent activities.

A major cover-up is currently ongoing and several members of the press have been approached to ‘manage’ the matter, with a leading PR agency owned by a respected journalist attached, though the senior scribe denied any involvement in the matter. Most media houses have been ‘contained’ not to run the story. Kenya Insights will keep you updated.