Three Kenya Power Board members have quit the utility firm just days after the company also replaced its acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with another interim boss.
Kenya Power has announced the exit of Engineers Elizabeth Rogo, Abdulrazaq Ali and Dr Caroline Kittony-Waiyaki from its Board “to pursue other personal interests” barely two years after they were appointed as non-executive directors.
“The Board of Directors of Kenya Power hereby announces the resignation of Eng Elizabeth Rogo, Eng Abdulrazaq Ali and Dr Caroline Kittony-Waiyaki as independent directors of the company to pursue other personal interests,” said a notice by the firm.
The three were among five non-executive directors – including now Board chairman Vivienne Yeda and industrialist Sachen Gudka – that were appointed to the firm’s Board in July 2020 to drive its turnaround.
The five replaced the old Board members – including Adil Khawaja, Kairo Thuo, Wilson Kimutai Mugung’ei, Brenda Kokoi, and Zipporah Kerring – who had resigned days earlier and were appointed at a time the company had sunk into a Sh2.98 billion net loss for the full year to June 2020, its first loss in 17 years.
Mr Ali has over 35 years’ experience in public service having served in government as a deputy and chief executive of various state corporations, and later as the Principal Secretary in the Ministries of Transport and Trade.
Ms Kittony-Waiyaki, a lawyer, also has over 30 years of experience in civil and commercial practice in conveyance, civil and commercial practice intellectual property and energy law, while Ms Rogo is an entrepreneur who founded and is head of TSAVO Oilfield Services and also vastly experienced in engineering.
Interestingly, the exit of the three comes just months after Kenya Power union workers had pushed for the ouster of Ms Kittony-Waiyaki, Ms Rogo, Mr Gudka and Ms Yeda over tendering malpractices at the firm.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) last year summoned Kenya Power Board’s non-executive directors to appear before it to record statements over procurement fights at the utility company.
The resignation of the three continues the leadership turmoil at the company, where most managers have been serving in acting capacities for over a year and is also yet to appoint a substantive CEO to replace Mr Bernard Ngugi who quit the firm in August last year.
Barely two weeks ago, Kenya Power appointed Mr Geoffrey Muli as its new acting CEO to replace Eng Rosemary Oduor who had been serving in the position since Mr Ngugi’s exit.
The appointment of Mr Muli – who had been serving as the company’s acting general manager in charge of regional coordination – came at a time the firm is at the centre of government-led negotiations with independent power producers (IPPs) over reduction of their power tariffs.
