The US follows stolen money and returns it to the treasury the soonest possible. Getting back stolen money makes it unnecessary to keep raising taxes for the citizens. Does that happen in African countries like Kenya?
Take America’s most recent fraud scandal. In January 2026, a judge in Minnesota gave the green light for the authorities to seize assets belonging to Aimee Bock, a US citizen. She is also to forfeit around $5 million she has in cash.
Bock is the founder of a program known as Feeding Our Future, and together with a man of Somali origin, Salim Said, were found to have cheated the government of over $250 million during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government is following the money to do justice to its taxpayers, and it is also jailing the culprit according to the law. She has already been found guilty, and if her appeal fails, she is likely to remain in jail for over 30 years.
Aimee Bock regularly received funding from the Federal government because the US, through its various states, finances entities that serve children. The idea is to try ensure no child sleeps hungry because they lack food. One of the enterprises through which Bock unscrupulously channeled government money was Said’s Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, which specializes in Somali dishes.
With that money, the two were able to buy personal property, including luxury motor vehicles and real estate. Some of the loot also financed luxurious local and international trips.
The US is bent on recovering $250 million and more
Considering that the US judiciary and the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) are largely independent, they are attaching every dollar they find along the way as long as it is part of the fraudulently acquired money.
If the people handling these cases – the FBI, U.S. Attorneys Lisa D. Kirkpatrick, Joseph H. Thompson, and the rest of the judiciary – were part of a corrupt system, they would have chosen to share in the loot rather than indict and convict Aimee Bock, Salim Said, and the others.
Instead, they have continued to net more perpetrators with a view to getting most of the taxpayers money back. From a court ruling made in September 2025, the government is about to recover a further $40 million found to have been stolen by two siblings, Abdiaziz Farah and his 28-year-old brother, Ahmednaji Maalim Aftin Sheikh of Kenya.
Does Kenya follow the Money?
From the scandals known in Kenya’s history, not much comes of whistleblowing, save for a lot of public noise and stern statements from heads of public institutions.
Kenya’s health and education sectors are among those that continue to suffer, as a significant portion of the funds allocated to health services and education ends up in people’s pockets.
Was any money recovered from the Goldenberg scandal?
In Kenya, once money is out, it is unlikely to return. Not even the chunks that leave the treasury unprocedurally or fraudulently, with the gatekeepers unaware, indifferent, or outright complicit.
That is how Kenyans continue to bear the burden of heavy taxation
Meanwhile, where does the money to cover the short-falls in the ministries of education, health, and others come from? Easy: Just tax the people more! What are they going to do anyway? This seems to be the government’s attitude: this government and previous ones, only with varying levels of audacity.
With political parties making anti-corruption part of their campaign agenda every 5yrs, is it going to be any different in 2027?
Is there a single political party that ever shown seriousness in keeping the taxpayers’ money safe? Certainly, it cannot have been KANU. Was it PNU? Jubilee? Kenya Kwanza?
Considering the massive scandals involving Anglo-Leasing, KEMSA, and others that have followed the infamous Goldenberg scandal of the 1990s, hope cannot be pinned on the promises of political parties.
Although President Kibaki’s government gave Kenyans some hope by establishing the Goldenberg Commission, not much came of it, save for the modest recovery of the then Grand Regency hotel. The Central Bank of Kenya took over ownership of the hotel, and later on sold it for a measly Ksh.2.9 billion.
It is worth noting that Ksh.158 billion was confirmed lost through the Goldenberg scandal, and the cost of the inquiry exceeded Ksh.511 million. That cost included Ksh.350 million the government paid to the commissioners and the commission staff.
So, will Kenyans manage to change this narrative of thievery?
How can Kenyans change this narrative of thievery? If government institutions are complicit and the people you elect cannot safeguard your hard-earned cash, why bother campaigning for them? In short, it might help to make integrity a key point of discussion when it comes to agreeing on your party’s candidate.
Forget about Chapter 6 that politicians invoke for personal expediency. Just make up your mind whom you can trust and whom you cannot, and let your party know.
Forget Mr. Moneybags – eat their money, but do not vote them in if handouts are all they have to offer. Very likely, the money is part of your taxes leaked from some back door.
Also, stop being star-struck by people associated with the who’s who of Kenya. Their network will not stop them from shutting their eyes as your money gets stolen. Neither will it stop them from voting for bills with punitive tax hikes and additions.
It is time to swallow the bitter truth that Kenyan MPs – or at least, many of them – have no qualms taking bribes to pass or amend laws, or to do anything else that only the National Assembly can do. Once a moneyed individual or institution dangles a golden carrot, the potential impact of their actions on the electorate becomes secondary, if not entirely irrelevant.
Mind the Presidential Candidate More
With odds so much against the common man, maybe Kenyans should focus more on the Presidential candidate than the Members of Parliament. Clearly, there are many gullible MPs, so salvation will probably come from electing a president of high integrity who is also bold. This way, if he/she needs to influence your MP’s vote, it will be for your betterment.
It is worth remembering that Kenyan institutions do not work like those of the US. For example, in the scandal involving the Feeding Our Future program, the US government first dealt with the top boss, the program founder, Aimee Bock. Not only did the courts jail her, but they also ordered the recovery of her theft proceeds.
Then followed other individuals involved in the fraud scheme, 57 of whom have already been convicted. Meanwhile, the government continues to arraign more culprits in court. And, of course, the relevant government institutions are not stopping at incarceration – they are moving to recover whatever money and assets they can.