You might recall CCN Vol. 57 #6, when we reported on a minor typo causing major headaches for Australia’s central bank (the word “RESPONSIBILTY,” in microprint beside the portrait of Australia’s first female MP Edith Cowan, is missing an “I”).
This week, it’s a near miss in Kenya, where that country’s new “next generation banknotes” use a debatable Swahili translation of the word “bank.”
Issued May 31 in the East African country, the five new notes read “Banki Kuu ya Kenya,” meaning Central Bank of Kenya (CBK); however, some Kenyans, including officials with the Consumers Federation of Kenya, a non-profit consumer protection organization, argue “benki” is the correct Swahili translation of “bank.”
After some controversy erupted on Twitter, Wallace Kantai, head of communication at CBK, confirmed there is no error: “Both ‘banki’ and ‘benki’ are correct.”
For example, neighbouring Tanzania uses the word “benki” on its notes.