Ex-Governor Patrick Njoroge reveals how CBK removed old Sh1,000 note from circulation

When the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announced in 2019 that the old Sh1,000 note would be withdrawn from circulation, the decision triggered anxiety across the country.

The exercise affected millions of Kenyans, required nationwide coordination, and carried significant economic and political implications.

Yet former CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge now says the operation succeeded because it was driven by one principle, nobody should be left behind.

Speaking during CBK’s CBK @60 interview series, Njoroge offered a behind-the-scenes account of one of the most consequential currency transitions in Kenya’s recent history.

The withdrawal of the old Sh1,000 note was part of a broader redesign of Kenya’s currency following the 2010 Constitution, which required new banknotes that reflected the country’s national identity and strengthened the integrity of the financial system.

CBK introduced a new generation of banknotes and set a deadline for the exchange of the old Sh1,000 notes.

The challenge was enormous: how do you reach every corner of a country where cash remained the dominant means of transaction for many citizens?

Njoroge said CBK treated communication as seriously as the technical aspects of the demonetisation process.

“We didn’t want anybody to be left behind on this in Kenya,” he said.

According to the former governor, the bank launched what he described as an unusually extensive public-awareness campaign.

“I don’t think there’s any other campaign that was that deliberate and that extensive in terms of communication. We went everywhere.”

He listed some of the areas visited during the outreach effort: Lunga Lunga, Wajir, Kakuma, Kisumu, and many other locations across the country.

The goal was to ensure that traders, farmers, pastoralists, refugees, and people in remote regions understood how and where to exchange the old notes before the deadline expired.

Currency withdrawals can easily trigger panic buying, hoarding, or long queues at banks. CBK’s strategy, Njoroge suggested, was designed to avoid exactly that outcome.

“When the time expired, nobody was actually stressed,” he said.

That outcome was particularly significant given the scale of the operation and the public debate that surrounded it at the time.

The former governor described the exercise as phenomenal, in terms of execution.

Njoroge framed the withdrawal not simply as a redesign of banknotes but as a measure aimed at protecting the integrity of Kenya’s financial system.

The old Sh1,000 note had become the focus of concerns about illicit cash holdings, money laundering, and the use of large-denomination notes in the informal economy.

By replacing the notes and requiring old ones to be returned through the banking system, CBK was able to improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the currency.