The free-falling shilling is set to officially cross the 160 mark against the US dollar. The depreciation of the shilling has accelerated over the past few weeks.
Between December 18, 2023 and January 10, 2024, the shilling has officially fallen from 153.7 to 159.3. The shilling is now expected to cross the 160 mark against the US dollar.
This fall comes barely a month after the Central Bank of Kenya Governor Kamau Thugge publicly said that the shilling has depreciated more than it was supposed to.
Since the current government took over in September 2022, the Kenya Shilling has fallen from 119 to the current official lows of 159. Commercially, the shilling is trading at lows of between 160 and 165.
The government including President William Ruto, the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u and the CBK Governor have shifted goal posts on why the depreciation has been stiff and consistent.
In April 2023, President Ruto alleged that the shilling was weak because of people who were hoarding dollars. He claimed that it would revert to 115 to 120 within a month. His claim was then echoed by Thugge during his vetting for the position if Governor.
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These claims have since changed. The government has now been claiming that the shilling is weak because former President Uhuru Kenyatta artificially sustained its value against the US dollar.
