The new EACC boss Twalib Mbarak is a man with many tales. In his latest revelation, Mbarak narrates a shocking ordeal on how he became HIV positive for a day after taking a Sh700,000 loan in 1987.
“I took a loan of Sh700,000 and I had to be subjected to an HIV test with my wife and I can tell you I was HIV positive for one day…and it was bad,” he said.
Speaking when the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission partnered with saccos on Wednesday, Mbarak said the situation made the two of them to panic.
“After the test, we went to fill the insurance form. That is why when I see people who are positive I support them and sympathise with them,” he said.
The anti-graft CEO said after four days, his wife was called and the bank people said the doctor wanted to see both of them.
“From the call, we were told it was urgent…we started asking ourselves why we were being called. When we reached home my wife was looking at me and I was looking at her,” he said.
“We never ate, it was bad. We went in the morning and we waited for the doctor..we were already panicking… when we saw the doctor I thought that my blood was found to be ‘dirty’.”
Noting that those days, there were no ARVs, Mbarak said they waited for the doctor to utter a word from the test that they had done.
“We entered the office, then we were told that the insurance form that we had filled was not the right one and that we had to go back and fill another one,” he said.
Mbarak, who left the audience laughing, had to explain that small loans needed a person to undergo a lot of processes to be guaranteed.
“If saccos are mismanaged, the ripple effect is bad and we look forward to working with you people in the saccos,” he said.
He further noted that saccos have embraced nepotism, something he says is illegal.
“I know what is happening in saccos… half of the staff are relatives ….if we decide to come to you we can prefer charges on you…do not practice nepotism in saccos,” he said.
“Saccos are plagued by corruption and unethical practices. In the last five years, we have received 409 complaints touching on the cooperative sector… 16 are pending at various stages of investigation and others were taken up by relevant agencies.”
In 2018, financial institutions lost up to Sh21.37 billion in the last financial year through cybercrime bringing to the fore how online banking platforms have exposed banks and Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies.
“Losses are significant when compared with the vulnerabilities, and they are experienced across the board in the finance sector,” Joseph Mathenge, chief operating officer at Serianu IT consultants said.
The report highlights the skills gap in cybersecurity, with 31 per cent in senior management level lacking the necessary knowledge to tackle cyber threats. At the mid-management level, 29 per cent of the managers have no skills in handling cyber threats.