Takaful Insurance of Africa has come under fire after a damning exposé by whistleblower Nelson Amenya, who has publicly accused the company of insurance fraud following an unresolved tanker accident claim.
In a post shared on X, Amenya laid out a detailed account of how the insurer allegedly used delay tactics and underhanded methods to avoid honoring a legitimate claim, resulting in severe financial losses for the insured party.
“In Kenya everything is stacked against you,” Amenya began, before going on to expose the details of the situation. “I want to raise an issue of insurance fraud which I’m filing a case against. The company is Takaful, and I’m aiming to have auctioneers on them ASAP.” According to him, a tanker insured by Takaful was involved in an accident at the end of February 2025. Despite following all required procedures after the crash including assistance from police, residents, and well-wishers the claim has not been resolved more than two months later.
Takaful, through its broker T-Bell, allegedly sent an investigator a whole month after the incident, a delay that raised suspicions. Following that, the company reportedly went silent and gave excuses such as the boss being unreachable. Eventually, Takaful made what Amenya calls “an insulting payment” offer of 2.9 million Kenyan shillings, a fraction of the 11 million KES value of the tanker.
The tanker consisted of a prime mover worth 6.5 million KES, which was declared a write-off, and a monoblock tanker valued at 4.5 million KES, which sustained heavy but repairable damage. The repair yard visits and towing were done under Takaful’s authorization, yet no compensation has been made. The product it carried at the time was worth 5 million KES, and although some was salvaged, the costs incurred were high. The whistleblower also noted that the affected client had to pay for the driver’s hospital expenses, cranes, vehicle recovery, and scene security, all without any support from the insurer.
Since the incident, the insured has reportedly been losing around 3 million KES per month in business revenue due to the grounded vehicle. “We’ve also additionally lost business estimated at 3M Kesh, per month,” Amenya stated. He said he had since spoken to others in the transport business who had similar complaints about Takaful, with one resorting to sending auctioneers to the company to force payment. “I wasn’t aware of their fraud background when T-Bell arranged the insurance for us from Takaful,” he added.
According to Amenya’s source, now plans to escalate the matter by reporting to the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) and is calling on other affected individuals to join him in a class action lawsuit. “I’ll not rest until all the damages and business loss is paid for. We shouldn’t be conned by these scammers and let them off the hook,” he said.
He also did not shy away from suggesting corruption within the regulatory framework itself. “I know that the justice system in the country is up for sale and they probably collude with agents at the regulator,” he warned. Amenya has even made himself available for those who want to reach out or add to the case, sharing that his contact person at Takaful is one Mwaniki and that he’s willing to provide names of others involved.
This exposé by Nelson Amenya sheds light on what seems to be a larger pattern of insurance abuse and highlights the urgent need for consumer protection and regulatory accountability in Kenya’s insurance sector. His call for a class action lawsuit could mark the beginning of a broader movement to hold Takaful and similar players responsible. As the legal process begins and more victims potentially come forward, the role of the Insurance Regulatory Authority will come under close watch for how it handles this growing scandal.
