Now former Uchumi boss out of Icpak disciplinary committee

Former Uchumi Chief Executive Jonathan Ciano has been removed from the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Icpak) disciplinary committee and replaced with Mr Simon Peter ole Nkeri.

Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich made the changes in a gazette notice that also handed Ms Charity Muthoni Muya-Ngaruiya the chairmanship of the committee, a position Mr Ciano had held.

Icpak had in February pleaded with Mr Ciano to resign on grounds of professional misconduct.

“The Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury appoints Simon Peter Ole Nkeri to be a member of the disciplinary committee of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants for a period of three years with effect from April 1, 2016,” the notice said.

Mr Ole Nkeri, a lawyer and an accountant, holds an MBA in banking. He has worked with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) as a manager and in 2003 was briefly the acting Capital Market Authority (CMA) chief executive.

The replacement of Mr Ciano was seen as critical as the committee is charged with punishing members for misconduct.

Mr Ciano has been accused by Uchumi of manipulating its financial statements to hide losses of more than Sh1 billion.

He has also been accused of a conflict of interest after it emerged that he was supplying fresh produce to the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm and paying himself in advance during his term as the CEO.

The Accountants Act provides that a member of Icpak accused of professional misconduct be heard and, if found guilty, punished by the disciplinary committee through deregistration and fines, among other penalties.