Linus Gitahi to chair Home Afrika in boardroom shakeup

Linus Gitahi is also the chair of the board of Tropikal Brands Afrika Limited and the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE). FILE PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE |

What you need to know:

  • He will replace Lee Karuri in new sweeping changes at the listed real estate firm.
  • The size of the firm's board has been cut down to six from the previous 10 members.

Former Nation Media Group chief executive officer Linus Gitahi has been appointed the new chairman of listed real estate firm Home Afrika.

He will replace Lee Karuri in June following the firm’s annual general meeting.

Mr Gitahi is also the chair of the board of Tropikal Brands Afrika Limited and the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), and is a trustee of Street Families Rehabilitation, a board member of Africa Media Initiative and a director of Property Development Management (PDM).

The sweeping changes in the Home Afrika boardroom have seen the exit of seven of the firm’s directors, five of whom had held the positions since the firm listed on the NSE nearly three years ago.

The changes have also seen the size of the board cut down to six from the previous 10 members.

Only the managing director Dan Awendo - who is also the founder and CEO of Investeq Capital Ltd -, Ketan Shah and Mbugua Gecaga have retained their board positions in the shakeup.

Mbira Gikonyo, Mbugua Kamau, Lucy Maina, Nyagah Kithinji, Jane Adam, Paul Nguru and Doris Murimi have all left directorship positions of the company and replaced by Mr Gitahi, Resolution Insurance CEO Peter Nduati and Ms Rachel Mbai, who is a partner at the law firm Kaplan & Stratton.

Joshua Kihoro, a former Equity Bank and Ernst & Young finance officer, has been appointed as the chief finance officer.

Home Afrika in September last year sacked its then CEO Njoroge Ng’ang’a just two years after he took over the post from his predecessor, Gerald Chege, with the change coming at a time when the firm was facing deeper losses by high debt and a slowdown in revenues.

It made a net loss of Sh118.1 million in the half-year ended June 2015, reversing the net profit of Sh42.9 million a year earlier.

This came as sales fell 60.6 per cent to Sh216.8 million, reflecting a reduction in property sales.