Audio By Vocalize
Police officers barricade Waiyaki-Kangemi Road to stop vehicles from accessing the Nairobi CBD during Gen Z anniversary protests on June 25, 2026. [David Gichuru, Standard]
I received unsolicited advice from two financial institutions on Thursday, which means they were busy at work while the rest of the country was on lockdown. The early morning text from Safaricom invited me to join M-Shwari for “unexpected expenses.” A pretty attractive ceiling was offered. There were no details about interest rates.
The last time I used the facility was years ago, but I recall being pissed off by the constant flow of texts reminding me to pay up or risk higher interest rates!
The second piece of advice came from my “relationship manager.” Banks are so crafty, judging from the way they craft these job titles. Almost all my relationship managers have been women with very good voices. This one called to follow-up on the money market fund that I was told is fully operational online, earning a competitive annual interest rate of 8.6 per cent.
