The Kenya Prisons Service has warned the public about fake social media accounts impersonating the Commissioner General of Prisons Patrick Mwiti Aranduh.

In a statement on Wednesday, March 11, the service said it had identified two fraudulent social media profiles pretending to belong to the prisons chief.

“The Kenya Prisons Service wishes to notify members of the public about the existence of two pseudo social media accounts falsely purporting to belong to the Commissioner General of Prisons, Patrick Mwiti Aranduh,” the statement read.

The service clarified that the Commissioner General does not run any personal social media pages and warned that any accounts claiming to represent him are not legitimate.

“The public is advised that the Commissioner General does not operate personal social media accounts, and any accounts using his name or image to communicate with members of the public are fraudulent and unauthorized,” the statement added.

The Kenya Prisons Service urged members of the public to remain vigilant and avoid interacting with the fake profiles, especially when asked to share personal information or send money.

“We urge members of the public to exercise caution and avoid engaging with such accounts; refrain from sharing personal information or sending money to individuals operating these fake profiles; and report the accounts immediately on the respective social media platforms,” the statement concluded.

Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has moved to address concerns over ongoing activities at Karura Forest after reports suggested that land clearing was taking place.

In a statement on Wednesday, March 11, Mwaura clarified that the land involved measures only three acres and already forms part of an existing programme.

“Following the public discourse regarding activities at the Karura Tree Nursery, the Government wishes to clarify that the land to be used measures 3 acres and forms part of the existing Tree Biotechnology Programme Trust (TBPT) Nursery,” he said.

Mwaura stated that the work underway does not involve clearing fresh forest land but rather rehabilitating facilities that had previously been established.

“This exercise does not involve any new clearing, but is instead a renovation of facilities on land that had already been set aside for the above-mentioned tree nursery, which has not been maintained for some time,” he added.

According to Mwaura, the project will contribute to the national effort to expand tree cover by producing over 2 million seedlings.

“The 3 acres will be used to plant 2 million seedlings in support of the 15 billion Tree Campaign, noting that one of the key challenges in achieving this national target has been the shortage of adequate seedlings,” he continued.

Mwaura also clarified that officers from the National Youth Service (NYS) involved in the exercise will be housed within the same area that is already used for forest ranger accommodation.

“The NYS officers and volunteers will be accommodated in containers within the area already being used to accommodate forest rangers,” he further said.

Mwaura urged the public to ignore claims suggesting that additional land within Karura Forest is being taken over for the project.

“No new land is being hived off for this exercise and the public is therefore urged to disregard fake news and sensational reporting regarding this matter,” he concluded.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has dismissed claims that civil servants will have their salaries deducted to finance the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF).  

Speaking on Tuesday, March 10, CS Mbadi explained that proceeds from the privatization of state-owned enterprises will be used to fund NIF’s seed capital.

The Treasury CS noted that Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) is an example of an entity whose divestiture of government shares will be channeled to the NIF.

“No, this fund is being set up by the seed capital from the divestiture of government shares in state-owned enterprises.

“KPC is the first entity; we also have Safaricom and many others that will come,” said CS Mbadi.

He mentioned that the establishment of NIF is likely to lower taxes levied on Kenyans, adding that the government has already committed to reducing taxes for low-income earners.

“In fact, this fund is likely to lower taxes that are levied for Kenyans. We have already committed ourselves to reducing the taxes on low-income earners,” added CS Mbadi.

The clarification comes after President William Ruto assented to the National Infrastructure Fund Bill 2026.

The Head of State signed the bill into law on Monday, March 9, during a ceremony at State House, Nairobi.

While highlighting the bill, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Samuel Njoroge, said the new law aims to mobilize capital from non-traditional sources.

The National Assembly Clerk noted that the bill is intended to reduce overreliance on public debt and taxation in funding infrastructure projects.

“This bill is intended to mobilize private capital from non-traditional sources of infrastructure finance. It is also intended to reduce the overreliance on public debt and taxation to finance capital and corporate infrastructure projects,” he stated.

Njoroge noted that the bill clearly defines the projects NIF will fund, including national highways, expressways, railways, seaports, and airports.

Further, he said the NIF Act has created two entities, a governing council and a board, which will oversee the fund.

The council will comprise the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary, CBK Governor, Attorney General, and six other members who are not public officers.

On the other hand, the NIF board will comprise four independent directors recruited by the governing council, three public officers appointed for their expertise, and the CEO, whom the board will hire.