Bashir Issa Ali, Somalia’s central bank governor, said on Wednesday that money-transfer firms in the country had been officially notified by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) about the closure of accounts. He said the move would have a devastating impact Kenya’s Somali community, numbering just over one million people, the Reuters news agency reported.
The killing of 148 students by Somalia’s al-Shabab at Garissa, 200km from the border, has piled pressure on Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta to deal with the armed group, which has killed more than 400 people in Kenya in the last two years.
Kenyan media reported dozens of bank accounts had been frozen.
Kenya’s biggest-selling Daily Nation newspaper said on Wednesday that the government has “frozen the accounts of 86 individuals and entities suspected to be financing terrorism in the country”, including Somali remittance firms.
“It’s going to hurt Somalis in Kenya more than Somalis in Somalia. The amount of money sent from abroad to Kenya is huge,” Ali said, pointing out that many Somalis in Kenya rely on relatives abroad for basics including school fees.
| There's an obvious solution, based on an understanding of root core cause and effect. Rat out your crazy cousins and keep them from killing innocents. |