A total of Sh8.8 billion in unclaimed assets is being held by the State, still awaiting remittance to its rightful owners, despite being identified, Senators revealed Tuesday.

A probe by the Senate Finance and Budget Committee revealed that out of an expected Sh11.5 billion in unclaimed assets, only Sh1.5 billion had been accounted for and returned to owners, raising concerns over the fate of the remaining Sh10 billion. 

During a sitting of the Mandera Senator Ali Roba-led committee, members questioned officials from the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) over what they termed as alleged financial mismanagement of the assets. 

The inquiry was triggered by a statement by Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba, raised concerns about financial impropriety at the body. 

“…. investigate the discrepancies regarding unclaimed funds amounting to Sh10 billion that cannot be accounted for, given that only Sh1.5 billion out of Sh11.5 billion has been accounted for, and state any measures the Board has taken against the management in the supervising the audit,” stated Orwoba.

Denied wrongdoing 

UFAA acting Chief Executive Officer Caroline Chirchir, however, defended the Authority against any wrongdoing, stating that it had put in place measures such as internal audits, external audits by the Auditor General, and regular asset recovery reports to its Board of Directors to ensure transparency.

She also submitted that funds under the Unclaimed Assets Trust Fund remained intact and were managed within strict regulatory frameworks.

“We have identified Sh11 billion and only Sh1 billion has been remitted. Another Sh1 billion was reunified at source, meaning it was given back to the owners who were wrongfully identified as having abandoned the assets. What is currently outstanding is Sh8.8 billion,” stated Chirchir without expounding on the nature of assets in their possession. 

The House team questioned why the Authority had taken so long to return the assets to their rightful owners, even though they had already been identified. Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka pressed the CEO to explain the slow pace at which the Authority seemed to operate when it came to reunifying the assets with their owners.

In her defense, Chirchir attributed the delay to understaffing at the Authority, which she said had slowed down the reunification process. She explained that UFAA had been engaging with institutions that had yet to remit some of the assets and that these efforts would soon be accelerated.

“We have faced a few challenges in the process, partly because we are unable to follow through, as we have very lean staffing. We currently have only three people handling compliance matters, so we are constrained,” she explained.

The Nominated Senator also highlighted the unlisted shares held as assets and asked about the measures UFAA had put in place to “protect their value.” By Josphat Thiong'o, The Standard

Protesters demand South Africa close Israeli Embassy in Pretoria as firm stance against its ongoing aggression on Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon 

South Africans on Saturday held a protest outside the Israeli Embassy in the capital Pretoria to condemn Tel Aviv’s continued attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.

Waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags, protesters carried placards demanding justice, peace, and the call for an end to Israel’s attacks in the Middle East.

“Boycott apartheid Israel," "Freedom for Palestine," "Your silence will be studied by your grandkids,’’ read some of the posters.

Massarah Rejeb, who organized the protest, told Anadolu that they went to the Israeli mission to request and demand an immediate and irrevocable cease-fire in Palestine and Lebanon.

About 300 people, including members of trade unions, Lebanese people born in South Africa, and Palestinians, joined the demonstration.

“We came to the Israeli embassy to protest the ongoing genocide in Palestine that is now spilling over into Lebanon and threatening a regional-wide carnage,” Mametlwe Sebei, the head of the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa, told Anadolu.

Sebei said they gathered to express their solidarity with the people of Lebanon and their resistance, as South Africans have with the Palestinians.

He said it was vital to send a message that South Africans will continue holding the line, intensifying their solidarity with the heroic people of Lebanon, Palestine, and the Middle East, who continue to resist “Zionist colonialism.”

The protesters' demands included the call to the South African government, which has filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, to close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria as a firm stance against its ongoing aggression in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.

They also requested South Africa to stop all trade relations with Israel, particularly in coal.

Israel has continued its offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 43,600 people, mostly women and children.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel continuing deadly strikes across the country since late September, an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of the Gaza war. Anadolu Agency