ABSA BANK IN CRISIS: How Internal Rot and Client Betrayals Have Exposed Kenya’s Banking Giant

Billion-Shilling Lawsuits, Staff Exodus and Regulatory Scrutiny Threaten to Unravel One of Kenya’s Largest Financial Institutions

Absa Bank Kenya finds itself trapped in a deepening crisis that has laid bare a disturbing pattern of governance failures, compromised client relationships and institutional dysfunction that threatens to permanently damage one of the country’s most prominent financial institutions.

The unraveling began quietly but has since exploded into a full-blown scandal involving billions of shillings in litigation, forced resignations of senior executives, allegations of staff misconduct ranging from data breaches to extortion, and what insiders describe as a desperate scramble by top management to contain the reputational damage before it spirals completely out of control.

At the heart of the crisis lies the New Mega Africa case, a legal battle that has mushroomed into a Sh1.5 billion nightmare for the bank.

The transport and logistics company, which specializes in hauling clinker to Tororo Cement in Uganda, has accused Absa of systematically undermining its business through a toxic combination of leaked confidential financial information, delayed loan approvals, demands for kickbacks and what the company characterizes as outright financial sabotage.

The case has become a window into what appears to be a culture of impunity within certain sections of the bank, where relationship managers and credit officers allegedly wielded their access to sensitive client data as both weapon and bargaining chip. Court documents paint a disturbing picture of a banking institution where the most basic principles of client confidentiality were routinely violated, where relationship managers allegedly demanded inducements before processing legitimate loan applications, and where corporate clients found their private financial statements circulating among competitors and business rivals.

New Mega Africa’s director, David Abai, has told the court that his company’s financial statements mysteriously appeared in the hands of third parties, including officials at the Kenya National Highways Authority and competitors in the cement transportation business. The leaks, he alleges, had a devastating domino effect. Creditors who had previously extended the company generous payment terms suddenly descended with demands for immediate settlement. Suppliers who had maintained cordial relationships abruptly withdrew credit facilities. The company’s main client altered payment schedules, stretching what had been seven-day cycles to 60 days, choking cash flow and pushing the business to the brink of collapse.

The bank initially dismissed the allegations as baseless attempts to avoid repaying an outstanding loan of Sh86.4 million. But when Absa failed to mount an adequate legal defense, the High Court entered an interlocutory judgment awarding New Mega Africa the full Sh1.5 billion in damages. The bank has since scrambled to overturn that decision, but the legal noose continues to tighten.

Central to the New Mega saga is Wycliffe Makori, Absa’s corporate credit manager, who has emerged as both key witness and lightning rod for allegations of institutional misconduct. Makori stands accused of being the mastermind behind what New Mega describes as a systematic extortion and information-leaking operation. The company alleges that Makori not only shared confidential client data with external parties but also demanded kickbacks before processing loan applications and restructuring requests.

In his defense, Makori has insisted that he lacked system access to generate client statements and that his contact with Kenya National Highways Authority officials was limited to routine business inquiries about payment delays. He admitted receiving money from David Abai but characterized it as gifts exchanged between old schoolmates and former colleagues, not bribes or inducements tied to banking transactions.

The Makori case exposes a critical weakness in Absa’s control systems. How did a senior credit manager, whether guilty or innocent, find himself in a position where such serious allegations could even be leveled? Why were there apparently no safeguards preventing relationship managers from accessing and potentially misusing sensitive client information? And why, according to sources familiar with the litigation, is the bank so reluctant to let Makori go, fearing that his departure could jeopardize their entire legal defense strategy?

But New Mega is far from Absa’s only headache. The Shakab Tea Exporters case has added another layer of complexity to the bank’s mounting legal troubles. Shakab, a Mombasa-based tea trading firm with over three decades of reputation in the industry, alleges that Absa lured it away from NCBA Bank with promises of significantly reduced interest rates and superior service, only to deliver a nightmare of mismanagement, arbitrary facility cancellations and inappropriate disclosures of commercial information.

Court filings reveal that after Shakab moved its business to Absa, senior managers in both Nairobi and Mombasa allegedly mishandled the account so badly that the company was forced to pay twice for the same pre-shipment stock worth USD 1.65 million. Post-shipment export receivables totaling USD 2.29 million were allegedly masked under an overdraft facility rather than being properly referenced, creating accounting confusion and financial exposure.

The situation deteriorated to the point where Shakab lost a major export client and incurred heavy penalties from the East Africa Tea Traders Association. The company was forced to seek court intervention, and in June 2025, Justice Mongare issued orders restraining Absa from interfering with Shakab’s business operations. The ruling, which cited the New Mega case as precedent, underscored what the court saw as a troubling pattern of banks overstepping boundaries and compromising client autonomy.

The internal hemorrhaging at Absa has been equally dramatic. Sophie Omondi, formerly a relationship manager at the Mombasa branch, resigned under what she describes as intense internal pressure. Omondi alleges that she was asked to provide affidavits in the New Mega case despite never having managed that client relationship, a request she found professionally and ethically untenable. After her resignation, Omondi claims the bank issued negative references to prospective employers, falsely linking her to mismanagement allegations in the Shakab case.

Elizabeth Wasunna, who held the critical position of Business Banking Director, was forced out by the board following what sources describe as a comprehensive review of operational failures, client dissatisfaction and mounting litigation. Wasunna has reportedly pushed back against being made a scapegoat, arguing that broader executive leadership failures, particularly during the tenure of former CEO Abdi Mohamed, created an environment where credit and finance teams operated with insufficient oversight and accountability.

The personnel changes reflect a recognition at the highest levels that something has gone fundamentally wrong. Group Managing Director Kenny Fihla has reportedly ordered a sweeping internal cleanup, signaling that staff implicated in operational lapses, procedural failures or governance breaches will face decisive action. The bank has brought in Renato D’Souza, recruited from Stanbic Bank, to stabilize business banking operations, close control gaps and attempt to restore confidence among corporate clients who have watched the scandals unfold with alarm.

Yet even as Absa tries to project an image of accountability and reform, troubling allegations continue to surface. Serah Muthui, an employee at the Nyali branch, has become the subject of serious misconduct allegations ranging from leaking confidential customer information to involvement in questionable relationships that have allegedly destroyed family homes. A formal complaint submitted to CEO Abdi Mohamed in February 2025 detailed multiple grievances, including claims that Muthui has boasted about her connections and has intimidated colleagues while allegedly engaging with individuals linked to fraudulent activities.

The Muthui case is particularly damaging because it speaks to a broader culture problem. How did an employee facing such serious allegations remain in a customer-facing role? Why were complaints apparently not acted upon swiftly? And what does it say about Absa’s internal controls that staff members could allegedly access and misuse sensitive client information with apparent impunity?

The regulatory implications are profound. Sources indicate that the Central Bank of Kenya has been engaging with Absa regarding governance standards, compliance protocols and client management practices. While such engagements are framed as routine supervisory oversight, the timing and intensity suggest that regulators are taking the mounting litigation and client complaints seriously.

Banking sector analysts warn that the reputational damage could be severe and long-lasting. Corporate clients are the lifeblood of any major bank’s profitability, and news that relationship managers may have leaked confidential information, demanded kickbacks or mishandled accounts sends a chilling message to businesses looking for banking partners they can trust.

The crisis also raises uncomfortable questions about Absa’s transformation from Barclays Bank Kenya. The rebranding, which took effect in 2020 after Barclays Plc divested from the African operations, was supposed to herald a new era of African-focused banking excellence. Instead, the institution appears to be grappling with systemic failures that suggest deeper cultural and operational problems.

What makes Absa’s predicament particularly troubling is the pattern. This is not a single rogue employee or an isolated incident. It is a cascade of failures spanning multiple branches, involving multiple clients, and implicating multiple levels of management. The New Mega case, the Shakab case, the staff exodus, the misconduct allegations all point to an institution that lost its grip on basic banking fundamentals.

The billion-shilling question now is whether the reforms being implemented will be sufficient. Can Renato D’Souza, however talented and well-intentioned, turn around a business banking division that has hemorrhaged client trust and executive credibility? Can internal reviews and personnel changes address what appears to be a cultural problem rooted in inadequate controls, insufficient oversight and a tolerance for behavior that should have been stamped out long ago?

For Absa’s board and senior management, the stakes could not be higher. Every day that passes without clear, decisive and transparent action is another day that corporate clients consider moving their business elsewhere. Every court ruling that goes against the bank is another dent in a reputation that was once synonymous with stability and professionalism. And every new allegation that surfaces is another reminder that the problems at Absa may run far deeper than anyone initially understood.

The Central Bank of Kenya, which has the statutory responsibility to ensure the safety and soundness of the banking system, faces its own test. If Absa’s governance failures are as systemic as the litigation suggests, regulators may need to do more than issue guidelines and conduct routine oversight. They may need to consider whether stronger enforcement actions are necessary to protect depositors, restore market confidence and send a clear signal that such failures will not be tolerated.

As the legal battles grind forward and the internal investigations continue, one thing is increasingly clear. Absa Bank Kenya is fighting not just for its reputation but for its very survival as a trusted institution in Kenya’s banking sector. The outcome of that fight will depend not on press releases or carefully worded statements, but on whether the bank can demonstrate, through concrete actions and measurable results, that it has learned from its failures and rebuilt the institutional integrity that appears to have been so badly compromised.

For now, clients, regulators and the broader market are watching closely. And they are waiting to see whether Absa can prove that it deserves a second chance or whether the governance failures that have been so painfully exposed will mark the beginning of a long, slow decline for what was once one of Kenya’s most respected financial institutions.