Imagine a bank that doesn’t need your permission to take your money. Not through a loan, not through a fee, but directly from your taxes.

In Kenya, this isn’t a conspiracy theory – it’s been a legal reality for over 40 years. Let us understand how this works (against you):

‘Auto-pay’ law (Cap 493)

While we elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to guard the national purse, a “silent pipe” was installed back in 1980. Under the East African Development Bank Act (Cap 493), the National Treasury was given the power to send billions to the EADB automatically.

The Trick: Section 2 of this Act says these payments are “charged on and paid out of the Consolidated Fund without further appropriation.”

The Reality: This means the money bypasses the yearly budget debates. Your MP doesn’t vote on it. You don’t hear about it. The bank simply “withdraws” from the taxpayer like an ATM with no PIN required.

Mavoko ‘freedom ruling (March 2025)

For years, this bank hid behind “international treaties” to avoid being audited. But in March 2025, a landmark ruling in the Nusu Case (Constitutional Petition E009 of 2023) finally blew the whistle.

The order: The High Court declared that the “Auto-Pay” sections of the EADB Act were unconstitutional.

The 60-day ultimatum: The judge ordered the Auditor General and the Treasury to produce a full audit of every cent sent to the bank since 2014. They were given exactly 60 days to show the public the receipts.

The silence: To this day, the public is still waiting to see if the bank – and the executives who fed it – will obey the law or continue to hide behind their “diplomatic immunity.”

Who was guarding the gate?

During the decade being audited (2014-2023), the “gatekeepers” allowed this pipeline to flow without asking questions.

The Executive: Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto (as Deputy President and later President) oversaw the administrations that facilitated these transfers.

The Treasury: Cabinet secretaries like Henry Rotich and Ukur Yatani were at the helm while the ‘Shadow Purse’ was active.

The Bank: For 15 years, Vivienne Yeda directed the bank, maintaining its status as a “super-citizen” that was above Kenyan court audits – until the 2025 ruling.

The 2025 Conflict of Interest Law – No more hiding

As of August 2025, the game changed. The new Conflict of Interest Act makes it a crime or public officers to:

• Give “preferential treatment” to institutions (like bypassing Parliament for a bank).
• Hide financial interests or “gifts” from entities that benefit from public funds.
• Fail to disclose how taxpayer money is being managed.

The bottom line: We don’t elect MPs just to watch them be bypassed. If the law says the people must approve how their money is spent, no International Treaty should be used as a mask for a bank to reach into our pockets clandestinely and in the dark.

• A Tell Media report / By Faith Mirunde Hakala – Ms Hakala is a public legal educator and a long-serving paralegal in Kenyan judiciary.