NAIROBI, Kenya, October 19 – Lawyers representing a petitioner in a case over the government’s failure to operationalise the SACCO Deposit Guarantee Fund have asked PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to release a certified copy of its forensic audit report on the Kenya Union of Savings and Credit Co-operatives (KUSCCO).
In a letter, Allan Mulama Advocates gave PwC seven days to provide the report, which was completed in September 2024, saying it is central to a petition pending before the Nairobi High Court.
The lawyers said the court directed their client, Simiyu Robert Wanyonyi, on October 12 to obtain the report within 14 days. They warned that they would seek court orders to compel its release if PwC failed to comply.
Wanyonyi’s petition challenges the government’s failure to operationalise the Deposit Guarantee Fund established under Sections 55 to 59 of the SACCO Societies Act, 2008.The fund is intended to protect deposits held by members of regulated savings and credit co-operative societies if a SACCO becomes insolvent or collapses.
According to the lawyers, the fund has never been operationalised, has no liquid reserves, has no appointed board of trustees and has never compensated depositors.
The letter cites the collapse of KUSCCO, which it says had a confirmed net deficit of approximately Sh12.5 billion. The lawyers said PwC established the deficit, which was later confirmed by the Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives on the Senate floor on May 13, 2026, and corroborated by Grant Thornton.
“Two cooperative financial collapses anchor the case. KUSCCO Limited collapsed with a confirmed net deficit of approximately Kshs. 12.5 billion. Your firm established that deficit. The Cabinet Secretary for Co-operatives confirmed it on the Senate floor on 13th May 2026. Grant Thornton corroborated it,” the letter read.
The lawyers also cited Metropolitan National SACCO Society Limited, alleging that it accumulated approximately Sh50 billion in phantom loans while under the regulatory watch of the first respondent in the case.
“Metropolitan National SACCO Society Limited accumulated approximately Kshs. 50 billion in phantom loans under the regulatory watch of the 1st Respondent. The pattern is structural. The remedy must be structural,” the letter added.
The lawyers further cited a replying affidavit by the SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA), which they said indicated that its chief executive had acknowledged that the fund had not been established and that no board of trustees had been appointed.
They warned that the absence of an operational fund leaves SACCO members without the deposit protection provided for under the law.
