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The “Enlightened” Trap: Why I Advise Against Trust Funds in Kenya I see a lot of people on social media who imagine they are informed simply because they have come across how financial systems work in the industrial world. They advocate for Western models, imagining that these systems can work the same here as they do in the Global North. They tell you, “Put your money in a Trust Fund to protect your loved ones,” assuming we have a foundation of institutional integrity.
The reality? We live in a society where irresponsibility and mediocrity have been normalized. Before you bandwagon on the “Trust Fund” trend, look at the ground:
• The Sacco & Bank Heists: Look at Metropolitan National Sacco—billions belonging to hardworking teachers simply vanished.
• Vanishing Deposits: Look at the recurring cries from people whose money disappears within major financial institutions like Equity and Standard Chartered. If these giant organizations cannot protect your deposits, what makes you think a private trustee will have more integrity?
The Raphael Tuju / EADB Saga: Consider the struggle of Raphael Tuju with the East African Development Bank. We are looking at a bank that has the power to pull money from the Exchequer without permission from Parliament. How do you expect a society to have “trustful” trustees when the institutions themselves bypass the law?
The Private Trust Failure: Look at the late Njenga Karume. He was an “enlightened” man who set up a trust, likely believing it would protect his massive estate and his family’s future. But the reality of our society set in: the trustees could not cope with the family, and the family felt the trustees lacked basic integrity. Instead of a smooth transition, it became a mess of legal wrangles and claims of mismanagement. If a man of his stature and wealth couldn’t ensure a “trustworthy” trust, how can the average person expect any better?
My Advice: In a society that lacks integrity, “Trust” is a dangerous word. We have justified the disappearance of people’s life savings. We celebrate the “wins” of the corrupt but never take responsibility for the theft.
Don’t rush to recommend a system that requires a level of honesty our society hasn’t reached yet. Think about the environment before you “invest” in a mirage.
#TheEvilTruth #KenyaRealities #TrustFundsKenya #FinancialIntegrity #Accountability #PublicTrustee #LegalWrangles #JacobJuma #RaphaelTuju
