Police Constable Ann Wanjiku Waigwa who recently recovered a bag containing KES 2.4 Million and other valuables that a British tourist had misplaced at Wilson Airport and proceeded to preserve the items, track the owner and ensure the owner got back his items , was recognized with a Special Merit Award and a full academic scholarship by the International Leadership University (ILU) during the university’s graduation held on Saturday 19 November 2022.
The event was the 37th Graduation and was held at the ILU Kilimani Campus. The University Chancellor Dr. Farai Katsande presided over the event and also appreciated the university’s 2022 Integrity Award recipient.
Police officer Ann received the award from the Chief Guest at the graduation, the Group Managing Director and CEO at the Co-operative Bank Dr Gideon Muriuki, flanked by the Chair of the ILU Board of Trustees, Justice Daniel Musinga, who is also the President of the Court of Appeal in Kenya.
In his remarks, Dr. Muriuki said leaders who invest in people always reap big, pointing out that this is one lesson he has learnt as he leads the country’s Cooperative movement.
“As a leader, I have leant that Investing in people and teams pays the best interest. You are ultimately as strong as the team around you, therefore always keep people at the centre. Through collective efforts of the employees at Co-op Bank we revolutionized the banking sector through many initiatives as trailblazers. For example we pioneered mobile banking in Kenya way back in 2003, when we made it possible for our customers to access and complete bank transactions, such as making enquiries on bank balances and paying of electricity bills, directly from mobile phones:, he said.
The Co-op Bank MD further narrated how the bank was able to traverse the difficult COVID 19 pandemic and rise above it. He said the bank managed to pay out a total of Kshs 11.7 Billion in dividends for the years 2020 and 2021,as other listed companies held off due to the challenging operating environment.
“The bonds of loyalty between stakeholders were tested during the Covid Pandemic, when many institutions especially banks and other listed companies took a defensive stance and decided not to pay dividends to shareholders. As Co-op Bank however, aware that we were indeed ‘created for moments like this’, we defied the trend and went ahead to pay the same level of dividend as we knew it formed a critical lifeline especially to our Co-operative shareholders”, Dr Muriuki said.