This was first reported in 2020 and was written by Edgar Obare. We were reminded of it when we heard that 5 more people have disappeared in January 2024 and no investigations are ongoing.
WASH WASH: Edgar Obare Exposes; People Behind Wash Wash Business In Kenya (Just in case you missed Edgar Obare’s .exposee here is the entire conversation as captured on his deleted IG account……)
According to Edgar Obare, the Wash Wash business in Kenya is operated by businessmen who are well described by flashy Cars, the latest designer clothes, Rolex watches, they hang out in some of the most expensive clubs drinking only expensive bottles and they are always surrounded by beautiful women.
The business is a syndicate involving prominent politicians, immigration officials, media personalities and police officers, and flamboyant businessmen and bank officials.
It is an intricate web of cartels, who are not afraid of doing anything, including killing those perceived to be threats by leaking information to the “unwanted” people.
This is what befell Kevin Omwenga, a man who was killed under mysterious circumstances and later the only witness in his murder case eliminated.
According to a lady who claimed to be ex-Omwenga’s girlfriend, Omwenga was spending too much during his last days, something that attracted too much attention and exposed his colleagues.
“He crashed his Porsche and said he was tired of it because the spare parts cant be found in Kenya they had to be ordered and shipped (still ordered it). So that’s when he decided to get his Range Rover. The funniest thing was his brother had warned him on how he was spending his cash and attracting too much attention. He ended up dead weeks after. So many celebs are involved in this,” said the unidentified lady.
Another lady claimed that she dated Omwenga at some point, and witnessed him shoot somebody after a deal gone wrong.
“I dated Kevin some time back and he shot someone in front of me. It was crazy because honestly, I was just there for my birthday he even bought me a brand new Range Rover Evoque but I had to decline. The next day I left him. He used women to do wash wash,” says the lady.
The lady alleges that Omwenga bought Tanasha Donna her first car, a blue BMW whose logbook is in his name.
She further claims that he used to have a safe in his house, which at one time held at least Ksh17 million.
“At one time I asked him how much was there he said just Ksh17 million. He even asked me whether I wanted to start a business but my gut told me not to have anything to do with his cash (sic). I suspect he was shot after he refused to give Cesar what belongs to Cesar and ended up dead in his room,” she adds.
Omwenga’s associates, according to the revelations, sell people “money-minting machines which function for sometime before they are taken away for “system upgrades”.
“So Robert (Riagah) started with the first few samples on the machine, which come out legit. After that they start coming out faded then they lie to you that software has expired hence the problems and make fake phone calls which they now put it on the loudspeaker to make you feel its a legit problem that sometimes happens with the machine, then you hear the guy on the other end asking for Ksh180,000 for a software update. Since you’re already deep in it and you don’t want to lose your money, you end up bargaining with them. I tried telling them to update and even deduct 20 percent more from my cut the guy refused. So I ended up paying another Ksh90,000 then a balance once the job is done. That’s when they take the machine to the ” lab” for software update after that its cats n mouse games and they dodge you,” says a victim.
The grandmasters of the “wash wash and con game”, according to the expose, include KRG the Don, Prezzo, Paul Kobia, Chris Obure, Jared Otieno, Don Bosco Gichana, Allan Chesang, Mohammed Noor (Somali Bae), Adan Sonko, Sylvanus Osoro, Oscar Sudi, Steve Mbogo, Betty Kyallo, and Ben Gatu among others. It is said that the money is held by radio presenter Felix Odiwuor alias Jalang’o, Shaffie Weru, Prezzo, and KRG the Don among others.
“Only Shaffie hajaingia kwa siasa (has not joined politics), but he is warming up to Ruto. As time goes by, it will be so clear to you,” says another source quoted by the blogger.
Most of the clique members drive expensive cars bought from the same dealers while using their day jobs as decoys from their ill-activities.
To clean their ill-gotten wealth, politicians use celebrities to open businesses, which receive the money as part of sales and deposit them into bank accounts.
“You’re a government official/ politician. You put out a tender for road construction (or anything really) for Ksh10 billion. Whoever wins must give you (and your looting friends in procurement) 10 percent to 20 percent (mostly in cash). You can’t take Ksh1 billion in cash and deposit it in a bank.
So to “wash” the money, you look for a celeb, give her Ksh50milliom to start a high-end salon/barbershop. Find someone, else sponsor them to open a petrol station, another to open an exclusive club/entertainment joint,” says a source aware of the operations.
“You still have about Ksh900 million in cash left after “starting these businesses” that needs to be “washed”.
So, at the end of the day when your salon/club/petrol stations close their cash books, if they each made sales for Ksh500,000, you send someone with Ksh2,500,00 to the bank to deposit it. When the bank asks, they say sales from business ABC.
That way you’re able to clean or wash 10-20million per day without funny questions from the taxman,” adds the source.
Following a series of exposés on suspected “wash wash” individuals in Kenya, Edgar Obare has had his Instagram account deleted.
The account was deleted on Monday, August 30, 2021 days after he shared a series of screenshot messages on his Instagram stories, revealing how the web of “wash wash” criminals operate.