The wave of integrity audits that saw over 1,200 employees sacked in Kenya is now sweeping across Equity Group’s subsidiaries in East Africa, with Uganda the latest to feel the heat. Staff at Equity Bank Uganda are now on edge as Group CEO James Mwangi extends his internal cleanup operation beyond Nairobi, targeting questionable transactions and staff-customer collusion in loan processing.  

According to our insider sources, on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, the first batch of Equity Bank Uganda employees received letters demanding explanations for suspicious deposits from customers into their personal accounts—particularly around the time loans were disbursed.

“Staff are being asked, how come the day we disburse the loan is the day you are receiving this questionable transaction into your account?” a source at the bank disclosed.

The letters, described as “show-cause notices,” ask recipients to justify specific payments or risk termination. The probe stems from mounting concerns over an “unwritten code” among bank loan officers to solicit kickbacks in exchange for loan approvals. 

This industry-wide vice, insiders say, has long been tolerated but reached excessive levels in Kenya—prompting Mwangi to act.

“There is an industry vice by bank loans people to ask for kickbacks. They always say, ‘What are you giving me?’ Sometimes they are clear, ‘I want this percentage.’ Other times it’s more coded. But the effect is the same,” said a source familiar with the matter.

From Nairobi to Kampala: Operation Integrity Goes Regional

Mwangi first revealed the integrity crackdown during Equity Group’s Q1 2025 results briefing in Nairobi. The purge in Kenya followed a Sh1.5 billion insider fraud that implicated senior staff and exposed systemic abuse of the bank’s IT systems and processes.

“It doesn’t matter how many I will lose. I don’t even care. I have just started the journey,” Mwangi said at the time, according to Nation Media Group’s Business Daily newspaper. “I will protect the customers and the bank. If you have ever eaten mama mboga’s chicken, the moment of reckoning has come. I will clean the bank, and I will be ruthless. This is not a toll station.”

In Uganda, the investigation is reportedly using similar tools—flagging transactions into staff salary accounts and mobile money wallets that do not align with salary payments or allowances. Where those transactions are linked to known customers, red flags are raised.

“The exercise will continue for about a month. It’s random, but fact-based. Whoever has been contacted has a letter that clearly says: explain these 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 transactions. If found okay, fine—you walk away. If you can’t explain, you will be terminated,” the source added.

Risk to Customers, Damage to Purpose

The cleanup is not just about internal discipline—it’s also about protecting customers, especially small traders and vulnerable borrowers who form the core of Equity’s mass retail model. When staff solicit bribes from loan applicants, the effective cost of credit rises and default risk increases.

“The vice erodes value to customers and increases the risk of default because customers didn’t get to use the entire loan sum for its intended purpose,” the insider said. “Some even take on more liability just to accommodate the bribe, which hurts their repayment ability.”

“How many people have been told, ‘You must give me so much,’ and then they borrow more than they need—only to struggle later because someone forced them to part with a portion?”

Mwangi’s remarks reinforce that the group’s mission cannot be compromised for personal gain.

“The currency of the financial sector is trust. I made a promise to mama mboga that when they come, they will get a loan. Taking mama mboga round because she has not paid ‘lunch,’ I won’t take it,” he declared.

Institutional Support—and Warning

Equity Bank Uganda is said to have informed the Central Bank of Uganda (CBU) about the exercise. The regulator has reportedly welcomed the initiative.

“Equity Bank went to the Central Bank to report itself—that it is doing this exercise—and the Central Bank was okay with it,” the source confirmed. “They said this is something they would like to see, because at the end of the day, you don’t want to normalize that vice.”

The bank has not confirmed how many staff in Uganda are under review, but the atmosphere is tense. While some employees may walk away unscathed after justifying transactions, others risk disciplinary action—including summary dismissal.

Upholding the Core Values

The source also said that after the group’s brand coming under attackfor sometime, the leadership is moving to restore and enforce the financial behemoth’s core values. Equity’s internal values—Professionalism, Integrity, Creativity, Teamwork, Unity of Purpose, Respect and Dignity of the Customer, and Effective Corporate Governance (PICTURE)—have been a prominent part of its brand identity. But the Group now seeks to embed these values in practice, not just posters.

“We’ve always talked about our values—they are everywhere in our offices and online. But now, we must ensure our teams live them. Mwangi is saying Integrity and Professionalism must be upheld at all times,” said the source.

The internal audits will reportedly become a routine exercise across all the Group’s operations. Mwangi has committed to replacing rogue staff with hires who align with the bank’s founding ethos.

“A brand is a promise kept. An organisation is built by culture and the conduct of its staff,” Mwangi said. “They can’t be for walls; they have to be lived by the people.”

As the cleanup rolls forward, other subsidiaries across the region—including Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and the DRC—are expected to undergo similar scrutiny, marking a new chapter in Equity Group’s governance and risk management regime.